The Gods: Revealed
by Fronk10
Summary: What would happen if the gods revealed themselves to the world? How would this effect the demigods? The story of Eden when such a thing occurs.
1. Prologue

O C Character: Eden Lee

Age: 17

Gender: Female

Nationality: English

Looks: Long blonde hair, green eyes with golden flecks, slightly tanned skin, lean body

Home: London, England

Mortality: Demigod

Gods Ancestry: Eos, goddess of the dawn (mother)

Prologue

"_We interrupt this broadcast with an important announcement."_

The way too perky woman on the BBC news showed her face. What could it be know? It had to be something big; it wasn't everyday they stopped other programs of the news. Maybe war had broken out somewhere new, or someone important had died. And it had to be in the middle of my favourite show, didn't it?

"_At a news conference in New York City this afternoon, what people thought to be a local cult group proved to be the real deal. Not many believe that the Greek gods exist, but now we know they do."_

What? Since when did this happen? I sat up and paid attention.

"_Yes, you heard me right. The Greek gods are alive and kicking in 21st century New York. They say that they have always been there – and so have their children. That's right: the gods have been mixing with us mortals and populating the globe for some thousands of years now. Who knows who these demigods are? Are they a threat, or a helping hand to society?"_

So, not only have they told the world about them, they've told the world about us, too. Great. As if my life as demigod wasn't complicated enough already, what with living no where near Camp and having no cousins - or any godly relatives - near by to guide me. Now, I'd have to deal with people finding out about me and looking at me like I wasn't human. (I know I'm not fully, but you know what I mean.).

"_The gods also tell of creatures that live on earth with us. Not all of them are a threat, such as the satyrs or centaurs, but then there are the not so nice ones: the Minotaur, Furies, Hellhounds… And, apparently, they can disguise themselves to look like regular human beings. So, watch out! The gods have made it clear that it is highly unlikely that these creatures will attack any mortals, but they cannot be a hundred percent sure that won't happen."_

It was only a matter of time before mass hysteria broke out.

"_Now, the gods say that all questions will be answered in due course, but you may have to wait for these to be mailed personally to your door."_

Hermes must be thrilled; as if he wasn't busy enough as it was.

"_And that concludes our broadcast. There will be more tomorrow on our full show. For the whole interview, log onto our website. Until tomorrow!"_

The screen returned to scheduled viewing, but I was no longer paying attention. The gods had revealed themselves? Since when was this decided, and why weren't demigods consulted? Well, they probably were, but living in England I probably wasn't even thought about. Hell, my own father didn't even bother to get my opinion when he decided to get married. Again! No one cares, obviously…

"That's not true, child. I care."


	2. Meeting Mum

Chapter 1 – Meeting Mum

My heart leapt at the sound of that soft, feminine voice.

"Mum!" I cried, throwing myself in her arms. Like me, her hair was a luscious gold and her frame tall. However, her eyes were a gold as the sun, unlike my green eyes that I inherited from my father.

Eos, goddess of the Dawn, laughed and hugged me tightly.

"My darling, how are you?" she asked, her voice soft like morning sunshine.

"Alright, I guess. Dad's in the Bahamas with wife number three. Or is it four? Anyway, I'm here on my own and school starts tomorrow, so yeah, fun."

"I am glad to hear it." Her face grew grave. "I am sorry I didn't get chance to warn you of Lord Zeus and the Council's decision until now. I tried, my dear, I truly did but I can rarely get away from Olympus. You know how it is."

"I know Mum, it's okay. You are quite important to the world, you know," I laughed.

"Still, I should have made more of an effort to see you, Eden."

"Well, you're here now, and that's what matters. Do you want a drink or anything?" I asked.

She smiled. "I would love a cup of coffee, thank you."

"Sure," I replied.

I went into the spacious kitchen of my and my Dad's apartment. We lived in central London, overlooking Green Park. It took my Dad ages to find this place and haggle with the landlord to get the rent low enough for us to pay and still live comfortably. I really did love the place, but it was a bit lonely when I was here on my own.

"I heard from Frances the other day," my Mum said.

I smiled whilst getting the mugs out of the cupboard. Frances, daughter of Apollo and Sun Child* was my best friend and one of the few demigods from England. Now that she lived at Camp I didn't hear from her much but I did get the odd IM or letter via Hermes.

"What did she say?" I asked.

"She says that Nico and her are doing fine, she misses you terribly and wishes you would go and live at Camp Half Blood like she does so she can see you everyday and you two can make sarcastic comments together all say long."

I laughed heartily. "Somehow I doubt she said those words exactly, Mum," I said.

The goddess shrugged. "So, I added a few sentences, but that was the main feeling of it."

"Thanks Mum, I'll be sure to IM her in the morning," I said, handing her a mug of coffee.

She took a sip and signed happily. "There certainly isn't coffee like this on Olympus," she said.

"Speaking of," I said. "Who came up with the ingenious idea to reveal the gods to the general public?"

Eos sighed and lowed her mug onto the counter.

"I can assure you it was not me, child. I believe Lord Poseidon came up with the idea. Too many people were deep sea diving near one of his properties, apparently, and he said to his brother 'Why not just tell the mortals we exist so no others have to die mysteriously at sea?' Let's just say Lord Zeus took the statement to heart. Three years later, here we are."

Wait a minute.

"The gods have been planning this for _three years_?" I asked disbelievingly. "As in, during both the Titan war and the fiasco with Gaea? Surely that should have put the gods off revealing themselves?"

"You would think that, wouldn't you? But those incidents had the opposite effect. They convinced Lord Zeus that revealing the gods would provide an explanation for those who found the cover stories less than convincing."

"Were no demigods involved in the decision?" I asked, getting more worked up by the second.

"Only Percy Jackson and Jason Grace were directly consulted, but they had talks with their respective Camps who said they were okay with the idea," my Mother said, trying to sooth me. It wasn't going well. "I suppose no one came to you because you don't live there or they didn't want to bother you…?"

She trailed off as the front door slammed shut. More accurately, her voice got quieter as I got further away. Normally I wouldn't get so worked up over an issue like this – I wasn't usually – but when something this serious was being discussed without my knowing, something that affected me this badly, I think it's understandable to get a little worked up.

I know it was rude (not to mention dangerous) to walk out of a goddess when they're talking to you, but if I'd have stayed any longer and heard what she had to stay I'd have done something I'd later regret.

One of the good things about living so close to Green Park was that I could go there to let of some steam. I headed to the back of the park, no where near the path, and found a good, sturdy tree. I let loose my anger, punching the tree as if it was a deadly opponent.

I don't know how long I was there, but soon I felt dawn's pull in my mind. Being the daughter of Eos, I always know when dawn is, and consequently what the time is. Having calmed down considerably, I decided to head home. I was going to need all my wits about me for the next few days.

Upon entering the apartment, I found a note on the door, attached to it by a new imperial gold dagger. It was an exquisite blade, the gold shining. The hilt was an intricate design of suns and swirls in hues of red, orange and pink. I do love my Mum sometimes.

The note read:

Daughter;

I know you are upset and angry, but I believe this shall be for the best.

These next few days will show you many things, child. Pay attention.

Keep the dagger, I have a feeling you are going to need it soon.

My love, Eos

A word of comfort, a word of foretelling, a word of caution. Typical for an Olympian. Taking the note and dagger from the door, I went inside and got ready for bed. Boy, was tomorrow going to be interesting.


	3. The Interview

**AN: The school mentioned in this is an actual school in London location wise, but I changed the name of the school and have made up pupils and teaching staff since I didn't ask them if I could use their names. Better safe than sorry… However, the inside and student schedule I have no idea about, and is a complete figment of my imagination.**

Monday mornings were never good for me, especially now that the gods had revealed themselves. I had gotten hardly any sleep last night so I was irritable and anxious. And, just to top it all off, I had over slept and was now running late to the underground stop. Another good thing about living in central London was that I was so close to a tube stop.

I raced down the street to Green Park station and hopped on the Victoria Line heading north. Three stops later I was rushing around St Pancras station, grabbing my breakfast on my way. I went on the next Hammersmith and City Line west and got off at Bakers Street. I walked up the street towards the Sherlock Holmes Museum, past the end of the road and turned right up the road until my school was in my sites: the Swiss Francis School.

It's an old building, one of the original fixtures of the area. There are three floors to the building made of red bricks and a brown brick roof. It stands proudly on the corner of the street, with a high wall along the edges. A slow stream of girls were headed in to the building, so I wasn't that late. However, I certainty wasn't as early as usual.

All the girls wear the same uniform; light blue shirt, dark blue jumper and grey skirt with black tights. Shoes and hairstyles vary, of course, but otherwise all the girls are the same. I say girls because it's an all girls school. Even the teaching staff are women.

My best friend Laura was waiting at the front gate from me. She was a few inches shorter than me, but then again I was taller than average girls my age. Her long feathery red hair – red, not ginger – flowed down her back and framed her heart shaped face beautifully. Bright blue eyes shone at me from under thick lashes.

"Hey!" she said, embracing me. "Where have you been? I was worried when you weren't at St Pancras this morning!"

"Sorry," I said apologetically. "I over slept and had to get a later train."  
She smiled and waved her hand dismissively. "Not like it matters," she said, linking her arm through mine and pulling me onto the school grounds. "You're here now. Did you see that thing on the news last night, the thing about the Greek gods? Weird, huh?"

I smiled nervously. "Yeah, weird."

She laughed. "C'mon. The rest of the girls are waiting upstairs."

We went up the stairs and into one of the IT rooms where I knew the girls would be waiting. The girls include Leila, a small Asian girl with short black hair and pointed fetchers, Henry (Henrietta, but don't call her that), a tomboy with dirty blonde hair and black streaks underneath, and Austin, a strongly built black girl with her hair plaited in cornrows.

"Hey everyone!" I called to my circle of friends.

"Hi!" they each said back in turn.

I caught sight of Austin's screen. I smirked.

"Looking at the news conference, are we?" I asked, trying to hide my unease.

She nodded. "I am," she said, her accent thicker, no doubt from a trip back to St Lucia over the summer. "I find the whole thing strange and I haven't had time to check it our yet."

"Mind if I watch?" I asked, looking over her shoulder at the grim faces of Zeus, Hera and Athena. "I haven't had time to watch it either."

"Sure, I'll start it from the beginning, it's only been going on about forty seconds."  
"Do you have to?" Leila complained. "This'll be the fifth time I've seen it. I saw it on TV, and my brother's watched it loads of times already!"

Leila's brother was only her half-brother, which she already knew seeing as her mother married her father after Sekir was born, but there was something she didn't know; his father is Apollo, god of music.

"I don't want to watch it either," Henry added bitterly. She was always the one to point out the flaws in another, and had mood swings rivalled only by Aphrodite: in fact, I first wondered if she was a daughter of Aphrodite, but I soon knew better. "I don't want to know about a bunch of mythological freaks who are just doing this for a publicity stunt."

Ouch.

"Oh, come off it," Laura said. "Let them watch if they want to. Anyway," she said, she too peering over Austin's shoulder. "I think this is the uncut version from the American news show. They only put the 'highlights' on TV bulletin I saw."

Austin hit play.

It stated with a CCN presenter introducing the news story from the studio.

"…_And now we go live to our news correspondent live at the conference. Andrew?"_

The shot cut to a man, presumably Andrew, speaking quietly to the camera.

"_Thank you, Susana. Yes, I'm live at the Empire State Building for this special news conference. At the table in front of us sit three of the most controversial people at the minute. These three claim to be the Greek gods Zeus, Hera and Athena. They have called this conference to announce themselves to the world. It is just about to begin."_

The camera panned over to the main table, focusing on Zeus. He was wearing a black pinstripe suit, his beard neatly trimmed. Hera sat to his left, looking as regal as ever in a deep purple toga and large golden earrings, and Athena on his right, wearing a smart black suit and a long necklace with an owl on the end. They all looked as stunning as ever, even more so seeing as the recording was in HD.

Zeus stood and began to speak.

"_Greetings, all of you, and thank you for coming. As you are aware, my name is Zeus. This is my wife, Hera, goddess of women and marriage, and my daughter, Athena, goddess of wisdom." _He indicated to each in turn. _"We are but a few of the Greek gods that exist in this world. Here, today, we reveal ourselves to you. Too long have we lived in secret. Now is the time for us the be known once more."_

"_Why?" _one of the reporters challenged. _"So we can worship you again? Is that it?"_

Zeus smiled slightly, as is amused by the question. But, even seated, I saw the anger flicker in his eyes.

"_Not at all," _he replied calmly. _"We merely wish not to lie to our people any more."_

"_Then what else is there?" _someone else asked.

"_Anything you imagine from Greek mythology exists. The gods, the creatures, everything."_

"_Did all of the things detailed in mythology happen, then?" _Andrew piped up. _"Take Hercules, for example. Was he real? Did he actually complete the labours?"_

I saw Hera tense next to Zeus, the exact moment he flinched and Athena looked to the ground.

Zeus stated: _"Yes, I did have a son. Heracles was his name, though: the Romans named his Hercules. He did complete the labours set before him. A lot of those mentioned in the tale are still around. For example, the Aegean stables and the horses that live within them still exist, as do the golden apples. However, Cerberus has since been returned to the Underworld, where he still resides now."_

"_So, you're saying you know of life after death?" _a middle aged man with a French accent asked. _"What about other religions theories?"_

"_By coming forward we are not denying nor confirming the existence of other gods." _Zeus began._ "Religions like Christianity, Islam and Hinduism may also be right in the existence of their gods. We mean no disrespect to anyone, or their gods. Even we do not know all that transpires in this world, even though we are responsible for the majority of things."_

There was a murmur in the crowd of journalists before another question was thrown at the gods.

"_What about other demigods?"_ a female reporter asked. _"Are they around?"_

Athena answered this time. _"Yes, the gods still have children with mortals, the child becoming a demigod." _There was a large out cry then, everyone shouting questions at once, but Athena simply held up her hand and the whole room quietened.

"_As I was saying,"_ she said. _"Demigods do exist. There are many scattered all over the world. They are no different than anyone else in this world. Yes, they inherit characteristics from their parents, as any child does, and should not be scrutinised because of it."_

She stared down the camera.

"_And yes, that is a warming. If any of us hear of someone treating a demigod differently because of their heritage, know that you will have the force of the Greek gods to answer to."_

Wow. I was not expecting that, especially from Athena, supposedly one of the more… relaxed gods. Still, I suppose if someone hurt one of her kids, she would smite them instantly.

The bell, of course, chose that moment to ring, half way through the interview. We all jumped, not expecting it.

"C'mon," Henry said, obviously bored. "We don't want to be late to the first assembly of the new term, eh?"

She had a point. Unwillingly, we all gathered our bags, Austin logged off, and we headed out of the room towards the Great Hall.


	4. Assembly

We all hurried to the Great Hall. Everyone was a little bleary eyed, but what do you expect after Easter break? I smiled at other people I knew and hurried into line with the rest of my form. I nodded greeting to Miss Greenly, my form tutor and English teacher. She was my favourite teacher because she was by far the kindest and the only one who really seemed to enjoy her work – not to mention that she was Athena's daughter.

Everyone shut up when Mrs Jolinwood, the head stepped up to the microphone. She looked as cheerful as ever. No older than forty, she had pasty white skin and hollow brown eyes so dark they could be have been black. Her dark brown hair was tied back in a tight bun that sat on top of her hair. Her small, round glasses rested atop her hawk-like nose. She wore a forest green suite jacket with matching skirt, a white dress shirt underneath. The same stuck-up, up tight old hag she was last term.

"At least she's matching today, eh?" Laura said quietly, nudging me and winking.

I desperately tried to hide my laughter, but somehow Jolinwood still managed to send me evils. I could understand if she was, say, a monster and knew I was a demigod. I could understand if I were a bad student who was constantly being sent to her office. At least then she'd have a reason to hate me. But no: she just really didn't like me. Her gaze seemed colder this morning. Or maybe I was more venerable to it having not seen it in two weeks?

"Be seated everyone," she rasped, her voice far too old for her age. There was a loud clatter as thousands of girls sat on chairs. She waited patiently and then attempted a smile. Creepy. "I would like to take this opportunity to officially welcome you all back for a new school term. For the Year 13 students, this will be their last assembly with us at this time of year, as it is for some of the Year 11's. Take this as a time to reflect up your years here at Swiss Francis."

Her expression turned dangerously stern. Uh oh.

"As I'm sure you're all aware, there has been a very big announcement in global news yesterday." Ah. "Also, I am sure you learned about the existence of demigods. Every government has been informed as to whom the demigods are, and in turn the government has informed various schools, university and work places." Her gaze swept the hall. "We have three demigods in our midst today."

Hushed whispers filled the hall. I knew exactly who those three were: Miss Greenly, me and a girl in Year 5 called Rose, who was Hermes' daughter.

"I can't wait to find out who the freaks are," I heard Sandra, the leader of the girls who tried to make my life a living hell, say coldly.

"Definitely," one of her followers, Michaela said, trying to mimic her tone of voice.

"I agree," I heard Henry say to them. I was worried about this – she used to hang with those girls all the time and had a tendency to return to the 'dark side' every now and again. "I want to see who the freak is and ask them why the hell they're being part of some sort of conspiracy theorist cult group that is obviously off its rocker. I mean Greek gods? Really?"

Ouch. That hurt.

"I think it'd be cool to know a demigod," Laura said to me. "I mean, someone who actually knows gods? Awesome!"

I laughed at her. She'd obviously heard Sandra's conversation as well, and was saying it to spite her. However, I also think she meant it – Laura has always been a loving girl, no matter of anyone's situation.

I heard Sandra take a breath to no doubt say something horrible back when Mrs Jolinwood spoke again.

"Now girls," she said. "Settle down. Instead of making a sceptical of these three, I would ask for them to come forward. Know that you will be treated no different – no better, no worse – when you reveal yourselves. If no one comes forward, I will read out the list, which I have with me."

To illustrate her point she held up a small piece of paper.

I slid my eyes towards Miss Greenly, who seemed to be at war with herself. She probably knew that we would wait for her lead, but she probably didn't want to be the first to stand. I sure didn't.

"I bet the freaks are too scared to stand up," Sandra muttered darkly behind me. "Especially if they're in our year and know us. Maybe there's a god of fear, and they're the kids of it!"

She had no idea how wrong she was. Like I was scared of her? I'd had to put up with her for almost eight years now; I could handle her. And Phoebus doesn't even have any kids in England! (He has one in Indonesia and one who currently resides in some of shore African prison, but that's another story.).

That very comment changed my life forever.

I stood.

Gasps erupted around the room. Then whispers started. Mrs Jolinwood looked at me with an odd expression on her face. It was only odd because I'd never seen it on her face before. Ever. Was that… pride? I didn't get a chance to confirm my suspicions, however, as her face once again became a neutral mask.

"Please state to the student and teaching body your name, form and… heritage," she said, oddly polite for a woman who supposedly hated my guts for no apparent reason.

I took a deep breath.

"My name is Eden Llewellyn," I said, my voice easily carrying across the room. If I could shout over the Aphrodite cabin and still be heard, a silent school hall was no trouble. "I am in 12WG and my mother is Eos, goddess of the dawn."

She nodded and motioned for me to sit down. I did so gratefully, for my knees were suddenly very weak. Isn't strange how addressing gods, leading battles or fighting monsters wasn't nerve wracking at all, but saying my name in front of the whole school was? Weird.

Laura hit me hard on the shoulder. I sent her a 'what the hell' look.

"You never said anything to me!' she whispered back.

I let out a sigh and whispered "I'll explain later, okay? It's too complicated to even begin now."

She just nodded and sat back in her seat.

Rose stood up next. Her little voice rang across the room, clearly stating her name, form and that she was Hermes' daughter.

"And the final demigod?" Mrs Jolinwood asked, her tone kinder because she knew who the only one left was. Slowly, Miss Greenly stood and addressed the room.

"For those of you who I don't teach, I am Miss Greenly, an English teacher and the form tutor of 12WG. I am the daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom." She nodded to the head and sat down once more.

Mrs Jolinwood spoke to us all again.

"Thank you to Eden, Rose and Miss Greenly. I hope that because of this knowledge no incidents will occur. If anything does, the perpetrator will be severely punished by me. Now for the rest of the morning announcements…"

I kind of zoned out then. None of the announcements ever concerned me, anyway. I didn't take part in any after school activities because I was usually training, keeping in shape or practicing my sword fighting. Well, seeing as I only went to camp for the last four weeks of summer, I rarely had time to learn something new or practice against another person.

"… and finally, we will be having a visitor from America to answer the questions you undoubtedly have on the topic of the Greek gods. He is a very powerful demigod, or so I hear, and has graciously agreed to come to our school, and that is only because we have demigods here already. Also, for first period, you will go back to your form room and watch an educational video on the Greek gods in the modern world. That will be all, dismissed."

With that, she turned and left the stage, leaving the teachers to take their pupils back to their form rooms. I followed Miss Greenly up to room 32, the room connecting to the library. We walked a little ahead of everyone else and spoke in hushed volumes.

"Are you okay?" she asked me, concern creasing her face.

I laughed slightly. "I was just about to ask you the same thing. You looked like you were going to faint when Mrs J asked for the demigods to stand!"

She smiled. "The head had said that she would make some mention of our being here during the assembly, but she never mentioned asking us to make ourselves known. At least she was kind about it." Her small hand grasped mine. "Thank you so much for standing up first. I know that I wouldn't have been able to do it, and little Rose was probably more scared than I was."

I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before releasing it. "No problem, Miss. It was really in spite of Sandra I stood."

Her grey eyes danced with amusement. "Why does that not surprise me?" she mock chastised.

We arrived at room 32, the door to which she proceeded to unlock. The whole form filed in, taking our usual seats – even if the ones who sat next to me were a few inches further away on the near by tables. Laura took her seat next to me on the front row and purposely moved her seat closer to mine. Gods, I loved her sometimes.

"Good morning class," Miss Greenly said, standing at the front of the class. "So, now I'm going to put on the educational video that Mrs Jolinwood told us about in assembly. One of the gods has created this – I wasn't told which one – and it's about the gods and their role currently in the world."

Miss Greenly turned on the computer, then the projector, and turned loaded up the video. Just as she was about to turn off the lights when someone – I think it was Liam – called from the back of the room:

"Why bother with a video when we have two freaks in the room with us?"


	5. Questions and Fallouts

Miss Greenly stopped, her hand hovering over the light switch. We were all frozen. No one really knew how to react to this. Then I heard Sandra snigger.

I snapped.

"You think it's funny, huh?" I asked, my voice deceptively calm.

I felt Laura tense next to me. She knew that when I was shouting I was angry, but when I was calm I was seriously pissed.

Sandra blanched, but still found her voice.

"Well," she said, her voice cracking, showing the fear reflected in her eyes. "She's right."

I smiled slightly, my eyes hard as steel.

Before anyone could blink, I was in front of her, my face close to hers. Like Frances, I could travel at the speed of light. She jerked back in surprise. I resisted the urge to laugh.

"Find it funny now?" I asked, my voice low so only we could hear.

"Eden," Miss Greenly's voice said, quiet but stern. "Enough."

I turned and nodded to her, sent a warning look to Leona and sat back next to Laura. Mischievous glee was trying not to surface on Laura's face.

"I do not tolerate that sort of tone in my classroom, ladies," she said, sending pointed looks at Leona and Sandra. "I would appreciate it if that term was not used again in reference to my family, thank you."  
"She's got a point, though," Becca said, her Southern bell voice floating through the room. At Miss Greenly's horrified look (Becca wouldn't hurt a fly), she elaborated. "About the video, I mean. Why do we need to watch it when you two are here? Can't we just do a Q and A, or something?"

"It would be more interesting than a video no one's going to pay attention to anyway," someone said.

"And it's on the school network, so we can watch it whenever," another added.

Soon enough everyone was quite happy to do a Q and A – accept me and Miss Greenly. How was I to know what to say and what not? A lot of the questions I probably couldn't answer as I wasn't kept in the loop enough with Olympian news, jus the odd letter from my Mum.

'_Go on,' _I heard a male voice say in my head. _'I shall guide you as to what and what not to answer'._

Miss Greenly stiffened at the front, so she must have heard the voice as well. I raised a questioning eyebrow. She shrugged in response, obviously none the wiser as to whom the voice belonged.

Well okay then.

"Sure," I said, turning to face the rest of the room. "Fire away."

"How long have you been a demigod?" was the first question.

My lips quirked upwards. "I've always been a demigod," I said. "It's not an occupation, I was born that way. If you mean how long have I _known_ I was a demigod, that's about three years. I found out when I went to San Francisco, saw a guy wrestle an old man into the bay, that old man turn into a seal, a bunch of teens fight a lion/scorpion thing I later found out was a Mantiocre whilst protecting a sea cow and three days I got a visit from a demigod saying I was a demigod. It all gets a little confusing after that."

The demigod I had a visit from was Annabeth Chase, Athena's daughter. Seeing as she's the first demigod I learnt about, we are quite close. It was only later that I learnt about what these events meant in the grand scheme of the war.

"_After _that?" Laura whispered next to me.

Kyra, who asked the question, turned to Miss. "What about you?"

She sighed. "I have known all my life. When my mother had me, she didn't give me to my father like Eden's mother did her. I was taken straight to Camp, where I was raised. It was only when I reached university age did I leave Camp."

Everyone was quiet. Even I didn't know that much. I knew that she'd always been at Camp, but now that much.

"What's this Camp?" Zara asked.

"Camp Half-Blood," I answered. "It's the place where demigods go to be trained in fighting, stealth, tactics and such. We also learn about the types of things we'll end up facing and the history of demigods. There's stuff like protocol and the gods as well."

"Speaking of the gods," Naomi said. "Who have you met?"

"Not many," Miss Greenly stated before I opened my mouth. "Two, in fact. I met the god of wine at Campy and the god of war on a Quest in my late teens. Not many demigods meet gods, not even their parents. It's not often to see a god or goddess unless they need something from you."

I took a breath to begin speaking – I had met quite a few gods, actually, when my Mum took me to a ball on Olympus to celebrate the one year anniversary of winning the war – when thunder rumbled over head threateningly. Ah.

'_Watch yourself,' _the voice said once more.

'_Yes, sir' _I though back, figuring out who was speaking to me: Zeus, King of the Gods.

"I two have met two gods. Again, I met the god of wine, as most demigods do. However, I am one of the lucky ones who have met my godly parent. That's Eos, goddess of the dawn, in case you can't remember."

"What about the other demigods? Who are they the children of?"

"Almost every god has children," I said. "The Olympian Twelve have the most children, excluding the Big Three and Hera. A lot of other gods have come forward to claim their children, now, too. Camp's its busiest that the directors have ever known."

"Who teaches you there?" Laura asked.

"We have Chiron, the legendary trainer of heroes, as Activities Director and a bunch of older demigods, usually the head of the cabin, the take lessons too," Miss Greenly said.

"Chiron, for those who don't know," I said, "Is a centaur, the one who trained Heracles."

The rest of the class went on like that, basically. Zeus chirped in every now and again, telling me what and what not to say, but I was grateful for it. I'm sure I'd have stepped my foot in it somewhere. Not once did I have to mention fighting or any battles I'd been in.

The bell went about half an hour later, signalling the beginning of break. We all went out of the room. Laura grabbed my arm and dragged me off.

"When is it that you planned on telling me?" she demanded.

"I was going to, once I knew where you stood on the situation." I ran my fingers through my hair in exasperation. "I was up all night last night thinking about what I was going to do, going to say." I took her hands in mine. "Laura, you're my best friend. Of course I'm going to tell you. In fact, come round to mine tonight. We'll order pizza and watch stupid telly and I'll answer any questions you have."

Thunder rumbled over head once more, lightning flashing slightly. I flinched.

"Okay," I amended. "Maybe not every question, but most definitely."

At her confused look, I said: "The Lord of Sky has strict rules as to what I can and can't say."

She still seemed a little bemused, but nodded none the least.

We walked over the Austin, who was waiting by one of the picnic tables. When I asked where Leila and Henry were, she said Leila was kept behind after an incident in her form for defending my name. She gestured over my shoulder as to Henry's location.

I turned and saw her speaking in hushed tones with Sandra and the sheep (her followers), glancing in my direction every now and again. Oh, fantastic. Now she'd probably defected back to the dark side for good. Just what I needed at the minute.

That moment Leila chose to appear.

"God! I hate that woman!" she fumed, looking a little damper than when I last saw her.

I didn't bother to correct her in her use of the singular god when there were in fact many, because she looked annoyed enough as it was.

"Leila?" I asked. "Who did what to you and why are you wet?"

Her eyes grew in anger. "Ms Finer kept me behind because I showed that Diana Price who's boss! She started calling you a freak and an abomination to nature and then started on me because I'm one of your best friends. So, seeing as we're in an art room, I grabbed a cup of water and pored it over her head… which she proceeded to do to me."

"Oh," was all I said. Not only did I love Laura, I now officially loved Leila now too.

"High five!" Laura shouted, smiling like a maniac. Often did I think she was the daughter of Hermes, but no. She and the Stoll's would get along a storm. I was close to them, too, because I lived in the Hermes cabin before my Mum claimed me.

"Hey, guys," I said. "I've invited Laura over to mine this evening to talk all this out, answer questions and what not." I looked around my group of friends. "You two in?"

"I'd love to," Leila said, "but my brother is taking me to dinner. He said he had something important to talk to me about that he didn't want to say in front of mum or dad."

"I can't get, either," Austin said. "I'm babysitting the neighbour's nightmare twins while they go out. Again." As much as I loved her, I wasn't going to offer to go to hers, because it was me who came up the nickname 'nightmare twins'.

"Just me and you then, kid," Laura said, nudging me and winking. We all laughed.

"Hey," Austin said. "Henry's coming over."

Soon enough she stood there, glaring at the others.

"Want us to go?" Leila said harshly.

Henry just nodded.

Leila rolled her eyes and backed off. Austin nodded her farewell and Laura squeezed my arm before going. I turned to Henry.

"You wanted something?" I asked, cautious.

"Look, Eden," she began. "You know you're one of my best friends, but I can't cope with this." She looked me dead in the eye. "Eden, you're not even human. You know how hard that is for me to accept? I can't do this, not now, and I think not ever. I'm sorry." She turned sharply and went on her way.

Hard for her? She had no idea how hard it is being a demigod. How I felt finding out I wasn't entirely human. I expected some to react different to others, sure, but she hasn't even heard my side of the story. Hasn't even tried to accept me for who I really am. So much for a best friend.

I didn't realise I was crying until I felt three sets of arms rap around me.

"It's okay, love," I heard Leila whisper.

"She's a stuck up cow anyway," Austin said.

Laura pulled away and handed me a tissue. I wiped my eyes.

"You gonna be okay?" she asked, looking up at me with big sad eyes.

I nodded, smiling slightly. I sure was with friends like these.

"I'll be fine," she said. I hardened my face and straightened my back. "Don't we have places to be?"

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it's a bit depressing at the end! It should got better in a few chapters, promise! Review make me happy, so if you wouldn't mind... Fronk x**


	6. The Ameoba and Two Potatoes

The rest of the school day went surprisingly well. I mean, I still got a few odd looks from the horrible girls (no change there) and Henry still wasn't talking to me, but then again that was nothing new. She never had done, no really.

When the day ended, the four of us went to Bakers Street tube station, where we all got a train to St Pancras. Then we split to go out separate ways. Laura and I headed for the Hammersmith and City line east. A few stops later we were walking away from Green Park station to my apartment. My father didn't mind me having friends over when he was away – as long as no wild parties happened, he didn't really care.

We turned the final corner, Laura stopped me.

"Who's that by the front door of your apartment building?" she whispered.

I looked. There were three men dressed in black with hoods covering their faces by the door, staring right at us. Nothing screamed 'monster', so I was a little confused. At a signal from the tallest one in the middle, they walked forward.

"Eden," Laura said, obviously getting worried.

"I got this," I said sternly, motioning her behind me.

They stopped right in front of us and carried on staring.

"Can I help you, gentlemen?" I asked, mock sweetness sugaring my tone.

The middle one – I assumed the leader – lowered his hood. I recognised him straight away. Sebastian Oznerol, Sandra's boyfriend. At six foot four he was (supposedly) very intimidating. He worked out every day after school and was training to become a pro cage fighter. Yes, I said cage fighter. You can imagine how many brain cells he has on upstairs.

Think amoeba, or potato. (No offence to amoebas or potatoes).

"Eden Lee, right?" he ground out, his voice deep.

Sandra thought it was rough, sexy. I think it's about as sexy as a damn clog.

"That's me. Eden Lee Llewellyn," I said happily. "What can I do you for?"

This ought to be interesting.

He took a step into my personal space. Bad move.

"Sandra said 'teach the freak a lesson in who's boss'. I'm here to learn you something."

See what I mean? Amoeba.

"And my brothers 'ere are gonna help," he said, pointing at Pinkie and Perky over his shoulder.

Ah, the two potatoes.

"I would love to see you try," I spat, my good humour gone. Intimidating me is one thing, but threatening me near my own home? Pathetic

They advanced.

"Get back," I whispered to Laura. She ran.

They pounced...

…And promptly landed on their fat faces, with me standing next to them.

"Are you sure about that?" I asked, feigning innocence. "You're going to have to do a lot better than that. A lot, _lot _better."

Pinkie snarled and tried to swipe at me feet. He was so far away I didn't even flinch. Did these people not get that I had fought bigger that their tiny little amoeba/potato minds could fathom?

Rolling my eyes, I picked up Pinkie and Perky – one in each hand – and threw them to one side, so I could get to Sebastian underneath. They went _thud _into various objects and slid to the floor, a little dizzy. Wusses. They want to try being thrown through a wall by an angry Cyclops. Now that hurt. I grabbed Sebastian by the scruff of the neck and hauled him up against a nearby wall, several inches off the ground. This is why I train most evenings, for when things like this happen.

The colour had quite rightly drained from his face.

"Now listen here," I hissed menacingly, my face so close to his our foreheads were almost touching. (I was on my tip toes so I could reach, but that was beside the point). "You run back to Sandra and tell her and her little friends that I, my friends, or any other demigods she happens to find are under my protection. If I find you anywhere near me again – whether you're trying to get yourself into prison or not – you'll get out of it with a lot more than a broken nose and possibly damaged ankles."

"B-b-but I d-don't have a-a broke- Argh!"

I dropped him to his meaty feet promptly and smashed my fist into his face. It was so satisfying to feel the bone snap beneath my fingers. He bent over in agony, clasping his bleeding nose between his fingers, tears streaming down his face. Pathetic amoeba.

I bent down to his ear.

"Do we understand each other?" I asked.

He nodded, whimpering like a hurt puppy.

"I said; do we understand each other?" I said again, more stern.

"Y-yes," he whispered.

"Good," I said, standing up. "Now take your brothers and get out of here." He limped over towards Perky and pulled him to his feet, then got Pinkie. They all limped of together at a snails pace.

I moved right behind them at the speed of light.

"Now!" I shouted in their ears.

They all yelped in surprise and took off limping at a much quicker pace.

I smiled gleefully.

Laura threw her arms around me.

"Ohmigod Eden!" she said joyfully. "That was amazing!"

I hugged her back, smiling broadly.

"That's oh my god_s_, plural. And thank you."

She pulled away gingerly. "Am I going to be struck by lightning any time soon?"

I laughed, pulling her towards my apartment complex.

"No," I said, shaking my head. "C'mon. I want to get amoeba's blood of my hand, and then I'll answer almost all your questions."


	7. A Suprise

We sat in my front room with a glass of juice in my hand and lemonade in hers, facing each other. I'd gotten cleaned up and changed out of my uniform. Laura had called her Mum and okayed a sleepover. She's changed into some of my clothes (we were the same size, albeit a slightly different style) and her uniform was in the wash for tomorrow. My iPod was playing Taylor Swift softly in the background.

"So," I began. "What do you want to know?"

She furrowed her brow and thought hard.

"How many gods are there?" she asked.

Start of easy then.

"I honestly have no idea," I said. "There are definitely the Twelve Olympians, but there are countless others that don't get much of a mention in mythology, like Hestia, goddess of the hearth, or Phoebes, god of fear. That's more a question for a child of Athena, no me."

"A child of Athena would know something like that?" she asked, obviously confused.

"Most probably," I said, sitting back and resting my head on the back of the sofa. "All demigods inherit gifts from their parents, usually something to do with what their parents are patrons of. Athena, for example, is the goddess of wisdom, so all her kids are incredibly bright. On the other hand, kids of Ares, god of war, are usually quite violent or angry. No offence," I added hastily, looking up at the sky.

It stayed silent.

"Who are you talking to?" Laura asked, looking up at the ceiling too.

"Sometimes the gods listen in to mortal conversations. I was just apologising to Lord Ares in case he heard and took offence at the comment. Seeing as nothing particularly bad has happened, I'd say he's not paying attention."

"Oh," she said, shocked.

"What else?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"How many demigods are there?" she asked.

"How long's a piece of string?" I replied. "I have no idea. There are a couple of hundred at Camp, but they're only the claimed ones who can get every summer. There could be a lot more alive in the world. If they're not at Camp, they are probably blissfully unaware of their heritage."

"Do you ever wish you didn't know?"

I had to think about that. Did I? If I didn't life would be a lot simpler, a lot safer. But then again, I would be a completely different person.

"No," I said. "I love my life the way it is. I love the places I've been, the people I've met – I have a whole other family I never knew about. And I found my Mum." I smiled slightly. "I wouldn't change that for anything."

"Anything you wish you didn't know, hadn't done, or seen?" she asked.

I knew the answer to that straight away, but I didn't know if I could tell her.

"A few," I started carefully. "Knowing that there are monsters in the world doesn't exactly make me the happiest of people. I'm constantly looking over my shoulder for something that might want to kill me. The gods sometimes ask us to do things that end up getting us killed."

My eyes glazed over remembering.

"I've seen terrible things," I said, "Horrifying things that still haunt me. I've seen my friends, my family, killed before my very eyes. Wars you can't imagine. Creatures I can't even begin to describe. The world almost end because of evil several times. I've been close to death so many times I've lost count."

I shrugged, taking a haggard breath.

"But, I suppose it's all part of the deal. With all good comes bad. I supposed the amazing things I've experienced have to be balanced out with negativity, or the world would fall out of balance."

We sat in silence a few moments.

"Going back to what you said earlier," Laura began, obviously sensing my discomfort. "About demigods inheriting things from their parents?" I nodded. "What did you get?"

I smiled broadly, a laughing sigh escaping me.

"Well, my mother's the goddess of dawn. Therefore, I can manipulate light. I can bend the light so it's like I'm not there; I can create copies of things or people by refracting the light; I can make people see things that aren't there; I can see really well in the dark; I can create flashes light that can be used as really sparkly fireworks or to blind someone; and, a little mundanely, I can always tell when dawn is and work out the time from there, so I don't actually need a watch."

"Wow," she said. Her expression turned mischievous. "Can you refract the light now?" she asked excitedly, her eyes sparkling. "Create something?"

"Urm, I don't know if I'm allowed to use my powers in front of you, you being mortal an' all."

"Oh, go on. Be a rebel for once!" she asked, bouncing up and down on her seat.

I laughed nervously.

"It's not that simple. I'd be in trouble with _a god_. That's a little more serious than a detention."

"Go on, Sparkles," someone said behind me. "Zeus is cool with it, I checked."

I stood and spun, facing the intruder. My face lit up.

"Annabeth!" I practically squealed, throwing myself into her arms.

She laughed and hugged me back.

"'Oh, hi Nico, Percy'" I heard a mocking voice say next to her. "'Hi, Eden It's good to see you, how are you?' 'Oh I'm fine thanks, how are both of you?'"

I released Annabeth and took in Nico, moody as ever, and Percy, possibly a little more tanned, standing behind her.

"Hey, guys!" I said hugging them both, too. "What are you guys doing here?"

"I'm heading back to Camp, actually," Nico said. "Taking Frances to the beach when I get back. It's romantic, apparently." He shrugged and Shadow Travelled away.

"Ignore him," Annabeth said. "He's always like that. I'm here to because Chiron put me in charge of explaining to different worldwide governments about the existence of the gods and answering any questions that they might have. This week I'm talking to Parliament and thought I'd make Nico drop us off here first and not at the hotel we're being put up in."

"And whilst she's talking to politicians, I get school kids," Percy grumbled.

"You don't do political, Percy, we've been through this," Annabeth chastised. I laughed.

"So you're the powerful demigod coming to talk to us, then?" Laura said from behind me.

"That's me," Percy said. He extended his hand. "Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. Nice to meet you."

Laura took his hand and smiled warmly.

"Laura Demarc, and the pleasure's mine."

She turned to Annabeth, her hand still out.

Annabeth shook it warmly.

"Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. It's nice to finally put a face to a name. Eden is constantly saying how 'me and Laura did this' and 'me and Laura did that'."

I blushed a little.

"Well, she is my best friend, what do you expect?" I asked.

"Don't let Rachel or Frances hear you say that," Percy said, shaking his head. "There'll be a cat fight in no time." He paused, looking into the distance. "No, wait. Do let them find out."

Annabeth slapped his arm.

"You disgust me sometimes, Seaweed Brain!"

"Hey!" he said defensively. "I'm a guy, I can't help it!"

I rolled my eyes at the pair of them.

"You guys want to stay here?" I asked. "My dad's out so I have the room, and we've got an X-Men marathon planned with pizza…"

"We're in," they said simultaneously.

"I'll just go and phone the hotel," Annabeth said and went find the phone.

"But we need the phone. What about pizza?" Percy whined, following her out the room.

"Sorry about this," I said to Laura. "We will finish this conversation, and I'll do Sparkle Bunnies and everything."

Her eyes grew large.

"There are sparkle bunnies?" she asked


	8. School Morning

The next morning was an experience. We left about half an hour earlier so we could escort Annabeth to the Houses of Parliament. She wasn't needed until 10:00, but she wanted a look around, insisting she'd never get a chance like this again. She's right, of course, but she was probably going to look at the architecture. I swear that was the only reason she went anywhere now a days.

Percy on the underground was something else. You'd think he'd be used to it, what with the subway in New York, but apparently the London Underground is very different.

"It's too loud," he complained. "And the carriages rock too much."

Laura and I just rolled our eyes. To say he'd saved the world more than once, he could totally be a wuss sometimes. He told me about how everyone was doing at Camp. Apparently, Jason and Piper had stopped tip-toeing around each other and were officially dating now, Drew had broken yet another boys heart (his fault, really, for getting mixed up in that train wreck) and Nico and Frances were as strong as ever. He also mentioned that Clarisse has missing me.

In capture the flag, that is.

"She's constantly complaining about how the Red Army are loosing now that they don't have you to sneak about everywhere."

I laughed. "Well, I'll be back in a few months. She won't have to miss me for long. And then we can go back to kicking your butt as usual."

We arrived at school earlier than usual, so only a few students were there.

"We'll take you to Mrs Jolinwood's office," Laura said, leading the way. "She'll want to know you're here."

"She's the head," I explained to Percy.

After a few minutes, Percy looked even more confused than usual in a new environment.

"What?" I asked, paranoid something was going to jump out at me.

"Where are the boys?" he asked, still searching. "I can't see any."

"You'll have a job on," Laura muttered.

I slapped her arm playfully. "It's an all girl's school," I said to Percy. "You're one of the few males to ever set foot on campus."

"So, you go to an all girl's school," Percy pondered aloud, "but refused to go on that 'All Girl's Night' over the summer?"

I shuddered.

"I refused with good reason," I said, remembering. "You know the Aphrodite cabin had organised the whole thing. As much as I like Piper, I would have killed Drew in the first five minutes – and Clarisse would have helped me. Can you imagine having to explain not only to an angry Chiron and Mr D about Drew's sudden disappearance in the ocean, but her mother? Or your father? Contrary to popular belief, I don't enjoy encoring the wrath of the gods!"

Percy just chuckled. "Oh, right. And what did you and Frances do in the meantime? Have a girly night in? Was that it?"

I sent him daggers with my eyes.

"Don't try it, Eden," he said, rolling his eyes. "I lived with Lupa, remember? Even Ares' dagger look has nothing on her wolf stare."

I stuck my tongue out at him and carried on leading him toward the Head's office with Laura.

A few minutes later we reached the office. I knocked politely.

"Come in," Mrs Jolinwood said from inside.

I opened the door, Laura and Percy following me in.

"Ah, Miss Llewellyn, I see you've found our demigod visitor," she said, smiling surprisingly warmly at Percy. Maybe she was trying to come across as human for the guest?

"Yes, Miss," I said. "This is Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon."

"Nice to meet you, ma'am," he said, extending his hand.

"Likewise, Mr Jackson," she replied, shaking his hand.

"Well," Laura said after a moment of silence. "We should probably leave you to it, I'm sure you have a lot of things to discuss."

Was I the only one who noticed the fact she was moving slowly towards the door?

"Of course, the pair of you may go," she said, gesturing at the door. "Would you tell the office to send a note around saying there is a whole school assembly this morning on your way down?" she added as an after thought.

"Sure thing, Miss," I said, closing the door swiftly behind me.

"Whole school assembly?" I heard Percy ask loudly from the inside.

Laura and I laughed as we went down the stairs towards the office. After telling the ladies there what the Head wanted us to, we went back outside. For the middle of May in England, the weather was surprisingly nice. We went to sit under the maple tree in the courtyard.

"How long have you known Percy?" Laura asked.

"Since I first went to Camp," I explained. "Although, technically, I saw him before as he was the guy who wrestled the old man into the bay in San Francisco."

"The old guy who turned into a whale?" she asked, trying to remember.

"Yeah," I said, nodding. "Percy was there on a Quest to save Annabeth from the Titan's curse. He's been on a lot of Quests, now that I think about it…"

Thankfully she didn't ask further. I could see the clouds gathering and had a feeling there'd be more thunder if we carried on that topic.

"So what do you think's gonna happen this morning?" she inquired.

I shrugged. "I don't know, maybe he has a speech already prepared, and then asks for questions at the end? Or maybe he's going to ask for questions straight of the back?"

"Can I ask you something?" Laura said, her expression turning devious. Uh oh.

"You can ask," I said, not committing myself to answer.

"You know how for history last year and we did Greek Mythology? And we had to write a paper on a god or goddess and you wrote things on Hades that Ms Price didn't know?" I nodded, smiling at the memory. It's always fun out smarting teacher. "Did you go to Olympus and ask for an interview with Hades or something?"

I laughed. "No, Laura, I didn't. You don't just go to the Underworld and say to Lord Hades 'I have a history project, mind helping me out?' It was nothing that glamorous. If you must know, I got Frances to come and take me to Camp, where I used the Athena cabin's library to find information. Then I went and found Nico and asked him for the stuff I didn't know. Although, going to the Underworld would have been fun."

She huffed, disappointed.

"What are the chances I'll meet a god?" she asked, pouting. "It must be so cool being related to them."

"It is at times, I suppose," I said. "As for meeting a god, I have no idea how likely that'll be. Who knows, with four demigods in one building, especially a child of the Big Three, you could meet one today!"

We laughed, thinking it was an innocent enough statement.

Boy, were we wrong.


	9. Assembly Demigod Style

**Hey, sorry it's taken so long to update! I've had a hectic week, but now I should be updating more often, especially since I have two weeks before school ends for summer! Thanks for keeping with me, reviews appreciated! Fronk x**

* * *

The time soon came for assembly. We all filed in as usual, but Leila pulled me aside.

"Can we talk later?" she asked, her voice low.

"Sure," I said, concerned. "What's up?"

She just shook her head and said she'd tell me later. The she hurried to her place in line. Okay.

I wandered over to Miss Greenly.

"Mornin' Miss," I said happily, smiling.

She jumped at my voice, looking up from the floor.

"Oh, Eden," she said, a little breathless. "Good morning, dear. How are you?"

"Good, thank you. Has anyone given you any trouble over the whole demigod thing?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No, all of my students were fine with it; they actually seemed to behave a little better, too. I checked with Rose earlier and she said she was fine also. You might want to double check on her, though. She might not tell me everything, you know?"

I nodded. "I do, yeah." A hush fell over the hall as Mrs Jolinwood went up on the stage.

I wormed my way through the people to my seat.

"Be seated," Mrs Jolinwood said. We sat. "Now, I have gathered you all here for a reason. Yesterday I mentioned a demigod visitor, to answer questions you may have on the matter as not to bother our demigod students. He is here today."

She beckoned Percy onto the stage. Everyone was silent.

"This," she said, "is Percy Jackson. I leave you in his capable hands." She went down off stage.

Percy swallowed nervously before beginning.

"Hi," he said. "As Mrs. Jolinwood said, I'm the demigod visitor, Percy Jackson. My father is Poseidon, god of the seas. Because of this I have control over water, can breathe underwater and communicate with horses – my dad's the god of them, too," he added hastily, seeing the confused looks on the front row.

"I've known I'm a demigod for six years now. I found out when I was twelve years old, after I was attacked by my maths teacher who was in fact a Kindly One. For those who don't know, they're not nice to come across. After that, I was propelled into a world of things I never even imagined existed.

"Yes, being a demigod is dangerous. Many don't live past mid-teens, so I thank that gods daily for that. However, if it weren't for my heritage, I wouldn't have found my father, who I believed to be lost at sea. I found family and friends I know I'm going to keep for the rest of my life. I also found the love of my life."

A chorus of 'aw' went up then, and Percy had the grace to blush. Boy, was I telling Annabeth when I saw her tonight!

"So, that's a bit about me. I'm now gonna throw the floor open to you, and answer any questions you have. Just as a warning – if you happen to hear thunder after a question, there's a good chance I won't be able to answer it. That'll be the Lord of Sky telling me to shut up."

A ripple of laughter went through the student body.

"Who's first?" he asked, looking out.

A hand appeared about a third of the way back. Percy asked for that person to ask their question.

"How come you can communicate to horses?" she asked.

Percy smiled. "My father is the god of horses 'cause he created them out of sea foam, so I can talk to horses telepathically. With my mind," he added at a few blank looks.

Another hand was raised.

"What gods have you met?"

Thunder rumbled threateningly.

"I don't think I can answer that one," he said nervously.

"Okay then," the girl continued eagerly. "Can you say if you've met Zeus, at least, seeing as he keeps butting in?"

I flinched at the girls words. Did she want to get electrocuted? However, there wasn't any thunder, so Percy took that as a sign to carry on.

"I have met the Lord of Sky, yes," he said. "The first time I met him I'd… retrieved an item for him of great importance and went to take it back to him," he said, nicely avoiding mentioning the Lightning Bolt incident. That would be hard to explain.

"Do you know any of the demigods here?" someone asked.

Percy nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I know Eden quite well, seeing as she's one of my girlfriend's best friends. I've met Rose briefly during lessons at Camp, but I don't know her that well. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting Miss Greenly yet, but I'm sure I will at some point today."

"Who is this girlfriend of yours?" another person called.

Percy smiled broadly. "Her name is Annabeth Chase and she's a daughter of the Athena like Miss Greenly. I've known her almost as long as I've known I'm a demigod." His smile softened, his eyes glazing over as he remembered. "She's always been a constant, no matter what's happened. Even when I… fell ill about a year ago, she was still with me."

It was true. Even with his amnesia, he still remembered Annabeth. It was so cute.

Another chorus of 'aw' came from the audience. Mrs Jolinwood cleared her throat, motioning for Percy to continue. He asked for any more questions.

"You know that tsunami a few years ago?" I heard Sandra call. Uh oh. "Did your dad have anything to do with it? And if you have control over water, couldn't you have done anything to stop it?"

I saw Percy's eyes go wide. No thunder rumbled over head as a warning, so he tried to answer.

"Urm, well," he stammered. "My father is god of the sea, so he probably did have something – a very minor something – to do with it, but -"

"So your dad was responsible for the deaths of all those people?" Sandra pressed.

'_He'll be the death if you carry on like this,' _I thought, looking around cautiously for any telltale signs of imminent smighting.

"I highly doubt that," Percy carried on, beginning to look a little annoyed. "And I couldn't have done anything because I was busy savi -"

Thunder rumbled then, cutting him off. The air also gained a little more moisture…

"Now, now son," a new voice said from the back of the hall. "Is there really any need for that?"

All eyes turned to the back of the room. There, looking as calm as ever in his Hawaiian shirt and Bermuda shorts, was Poseidon, god of the sea. He carried his trident in one hand as he walked confidently towards the stage. He nodded to me as he passed, and I nodded back out of respect. He nodded at Miss Greenly and smiled kindly at little Rose, who blushed in return. He even nodded at Mrs Jolinwood, which I found odd.

Eventually he reached the stage.

"Now," he said after greeting Percy fondly, "to answer the young miss who has been interrogating my son – Sandra, isn't it?" His eyes found her sitting a few seats to my left and a row. "There are tsunamis all the time, not many to do with me. I do, however, help greatly with relief efforts. I believe seeing as I am the god of the seas I should help wherever possible when my domain causes trouble or strife."

There was a stunned silence as the reality of having a god in the room sank in the people. Many just stared, disbelieving. Some looked around the room at their friends in shock. Some started talking to the people sat next to them, as Laura was doing to me.

"Is that really him?" she asked, he eyes wide.

I nodded. "Yeah," I said quietly. "That's him."

It wasn't that I didn't like Poseidon – on the contrary, he was one of the more reasonable gods, one of the one I got along better with. However, having one of the Big Three come to a tiny little school to talk to his son was a bit worrying. They ever came out for anything minor.

He whispered something in Percy's ear. Percy's eyes widened as he looked aghast at his father. He nodded frantically and rushed of stage.

Poseidon turned to address us.

"Unfortunately," he said. "Something has come up and he is needed elsewhere. I, however, shall take over where my son left off. Now, who wishes to ask a question next?"


	10. First Encounters

A stunned silence filled the hall. Well, what do you ask a god?

Someone came up with the answer to that question.

"Why did Percy go?" someone asked, sounding a little disappointed.

Poseidon smiled slightly. "As I said, my son is needed elsewhere."

"Yeah," the person persisted. "But where is 'elsewhere'?"

His smile faltered. Uh oh. "My son is needed to see to a matter of upmost importance on Olympus. I cannot tell you more, so please, do not ask again."

The warning was clear in his voice. The silence began once again.

"What?" he said at last, his tone playful. "No one has a question for the god of the seas?"

"What happened between you and Athena?" someone asked. He asked for the person to elaborate. "The whole issue with Athens," she explained. "Is there still animosity between you two?"

Out of all the things to ask…

Poseidon stared intently at the person, as if wondering how to answer.

"That story is true. Athena and I did compete for the name of patron to the at that point unnamed city. She won, and so the city was named Athens, after her. The people of Athens chose their patron; I hold no grudge against her for that. It just seems that in many different circumstances through out time that the Lady of Wisdom and I have been on opposite sides. We just don't get along, is all."

Miss Greenly and I, possibly Rose, might have been the only ones to notice that was an obviously practiced speech. It was said too perfectly, his face too open. His eyes gave it away, though: they were carefully guarded, neutral so no one saw his true emotions.

"Do you know the demigods here?" someone else called, the same girl who'd asked Percy. She really wanted to know who we knew, didn't she?

"I have only met Eden prior, unfortunately," he said, smiling kindly at me. "But I plan to introduce my self to the other two demigods here before I leave."

"How did you meet her?" another voice asked.

He looked to me for confirmation, eyebrows raised. I nodded, giving the go-ahead. I wasn't exactly proud of how I'd first met Percy's dad, but it was a very impressive story.

"I first met Eden when she got into a fight with one of Ares' immortal sons, Phoebus, the god of fear. Eventually, Ares got bored of seeing his son being beaten by a fifteen year old girl, so went to finish the job himself. 'Put her in her place', as he put it. They were fighting on a beach somewhere in the south west of England. Porthcurno, I think.

"Anyhow, Ares came to find his son half dead, lying in the ocean. Fuming, he yelled to the sea: 'Poseidon, if this fight at all took place in the sea you would know about it. Why did you not intervene?' I materialised next to Eden - who was still standing, which I believe to be a great testament to her – and explained that I did not come to his son's aid because he started it. I wanted to let Eden sort it on her own, which I knew she was capable of doing.

"Ares, furious that his son had done something to cause a demigod to almost kill him, dragged his son from my realm and said that he was sorry for anything his son had done, and proceeded to disappear. I heard that Phoebus was severely punished by his father; not only for whatever it was he had done, but for also letting a demigod, a mortal, doing to him what Eden did.

"I stayed with Eden on that beach, tending to her wounds and letting her rest until she was ready to leave. From then I let her know that if Phoebus ever attacked her again near any body of water, she could rely on my strength to aid her, even though I don't think she'll need it."

There was a stunned silence in the room. Yes, all of that did happen. And yes, I was only fifteen. I had been minding my own business on Porthcurno beach (which is in Cornwall, for those who don't know), around dawn, waiting to see my mum raise across the sky when he had appeared. Phoebus. He looked so much like his father I had to do a double take. They had the same harsh face, same dark shade of hair. His eyes were visible, though, a brown so dark it was almost black. He'd come and sat by me, not saying a word. I knew he was a god as soon as he'd appeared, so I let him be. Eventually, he'd said: "I know what you are."

I was quite freaked out, but I asked levelly: "And that is…?"

He'd turned to face me, his eyes faintly glowing red. "A scared little girl."  
"Okay," I'd said, turning away from his gaze to look at the sea and try to ignore him.

He didn't get the message.

"You want to know why?" he asked, looking giddy with excitement.

"Not particularly," I muttered.

Phoebus continued as if I hadn't spoken. "Because I'm the god of fear," he said, obviously very proud. "I can see your greatest fears, what scares you the most. You fear being alone. You know that your mother is too busy to see you, your friends are often too involved in their own lives for you, your father is always too busy with his latest conquest to be with you -"

"Leave my father out of this," I growled. No one crossed that line.

"It's quite pathetic, really," he mused, "Seeing as a demigod's life is full of loss and time alone. How do you live with yourself?"

"I get by," I bit out, trying desperately to try and figure a way out of this conversation.

"You know," he said, his voice suddenly lower, huskier. "I can find a way to cure that fear."

I raised my eyebrows at him, confused.

His hand crept up my thigh. What on earth…?

He leaned in close to my ear, whispering: "Come be mine. I'll make sure you're never lonely. Especially when you're in my b -"

It was that point I punched him. Who the hell did he think he was, coming on to me when I had no idea who he was? Did he have no idea as to my age? Or did he think that fifteen year old girls hired themselves out to men still?

Phoebus raised his hand to his nose, swiping away the golden ichor dripping from it. Now I'd gone and done it. Pissing of a god was never a good thing, but a god who probably now hated my guts? Not good.

"Oh, you're going to regret that," he snarled as he rushed at me.

That was how our feud began. We fought for a good hour or so, both of us battered and bruised (although Phoebus was obviously worse for wear) when his father arrived. He didn't yell at me like I thought he would – he just threw me away from his son before he yelled Poseidon. You know the rest from there.

Laura broke my thought.

"You got into a fight with a god?" she asked, incredulous.

"Yeah," I said, shrugging it off. "No big deal."

Her eyes widened. "No big deal?" she spluttered. "He could have killed you!"

I gave her an odd look. "Weren't you paying attention?" I asked her. "I almost killed him. Several times, in fact, seeing as he's tried to kill me…" I paused to count them in my head. "Seven times in total, not including then."

At her stare, I sighed and turned back to Poseidon. He was now answering a question on how he managed to create a horse from sea foam, but I wasn't really paying attention. My mind wandered. Why had Percy had to go so suddenly? His father said it was 'a matter of upmost importance', but what did that mean? Had Annabeth gone too? Were they coming back tonight? I had no clue.

Eventually, the assembly was over, as break was about to begin in a few moments. Mrs Jolinwood came up on stage and thanked Poseidon for stepping in at the last minute.

"But before you are all dismissed," Mrs Jolinwood said, "Could the three demigods stay behind during break? A friend may also stay with you, if you so wish."

I looked at Laura pleadingly, and she nodded.

"Dismissed," Mrs Jolinwood called, before beckoning us forward.

Laura and I went up along side Miss Greenly. Rose stepped towards the front, too, her friend trundling along behind her. Rose's little chin was held high in confidence, and I couldn't have been prouder of her. Mrs Jolinwood had left, leaving us alone in the hall with the god of sea.

"Eden," he said happily, "How are you?"

I nodded my greeting. "Good, thank you my Lord. And yourself?"

He nodded excitedly. "Good, good. Now, who are all these people?"

I introduced him one by one to the others in the room. He gave Miss Greenly a cold look when he learned she was Athena's daughter, but that was to be expected. He was still polite, however. He was very good with Rose and her friend, Rachel, smiling brightly and being extra charming.

"And this," I concluded, "Is Laura, my best friend."

"How do you do?" he asked, extending his hand to her.

"It's an honour," she said, a little star stuck, taking his hand gently.

He laughed heartily. "The pleasure is mine, young Laura."

Thunder clapped abruptly above us, and Poseidon cringed slightly.

Letting out a sigh, he said. "I am afraid this is where I must take my leave. My brother says I have far out stayed my welcome. It was lovely meeting you all, truly. And Eden, αν χρειάζεστε εμένα ποτέ, ξέρετε πώς να έρθετε σε επαφή, yes?"

That translated to, _if you ever need me, you know how to get in touch_. I nodded. As well as gaining it aid in battle that day, I also gained his blessing, meaning I was under his protection. I could get in touch any time with an IM and he wouldn't be as annoyed with me as he would anyone but Percy.

He nodded, and disappeared in a cloud of bubbles.

We all went our separate ways, and our days really began.


	11. Revelations

Break went well, considering the whole school now knew I had a violent past. I mean, I got a few more odd looks than had been the norm, and people whispered as I walked passed, but it was nothing to worry about. I went looking for Leila on my own, as she'd said she wanted to talk to me, but I couldn't find her anywhere. Eventually, Austin came up to me.

"So," she began casually. "Do you often get into fights with gods, or was Phoebus a special case?"

I laughed at her bluntness. "I only argue with the annoying ones, and very rarely do I get into fist fights. So, yeah, I guess Phoebus was a special case."

She rolled her eyes. "The annoying ones?" she scoffed. "Like who?"

I looked nervously at the sky. "I'd rather not answer that, if I'm honest."

She tagged on quickly. "Right, gotcha." She leaned in closer. "By the way, if you're wondering where Leila is, she's waiting for you by the maple tree."

I felt relief rush over me. "Thanks, Austin. I'll go to her now."

A few minutes later, I found Leila on the bench under the tree, sitting alone and staring intently at the floor. I took a seat next to her.

"Hey," I said quietly. "You wanted a word?"  
She looked up at me, and for the first time I noticed her red puffy eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she croaked.

"Tell you what?" I asked gently, not wanting to jump to conclusions and tell her something else to get her upset.

"My brother, Eden," she said.

Ah.

I sighed. "I couldn't, Leila," I said, trying to make her understand. "Plus, it's your brother's responsibility to tell you of his heritage, not mine. It's not my place."

Her shoulders slumped, defeated.

"I-I suppose," she said, so quietly I had to strain to hear her. "But, why would he keep that from me? He's my brother; I wouldn't have treated him any different!"

I smiled slightly. "I know that, Leila, but he probably didn't tell you for the same reason I didn't: we simply aren't allowed. On top of that, do you realise how scary the idea of telling loved ones that you're the child of something that according to modern society doesn't exist is? It's bloody terrifying!"

She laughed along with me. Good; laughing meant not crying.

"I'm sure he wanted to tell you, but he just couldn't," I concluded.

She nodded, seeming to brighten up a little.

"How did you know?" she asked, looking up at me. "Did he tell you?"

I shook my head.

"Demigods give off a certain… vibe, if you will. As well as monsters, gods or satyrs picking up on it, other demigods can too. I couldn't tell whose kid he was, but I knew he was a demigod. I didn't mention anything to him at first, because I didn't know if he knew he was a demigod or not. Can you imagine your sister's crazy friend telling you you weren't human?" She smirked a little. "Eventually, though, he plucked up the courage to mention something. He already knew he was a demigod because his dad had told him – you know who his father is, right?"

She nodded. "Apollo, god of music."

I nodded, "Yeah, exactly. So, I told him who I was, _what_ I was, and we got along fine. Apparently he'd known for ages, and I wondered why I hadn't seen him at Camp: turns out he's from Camp Jupiter – did he explain the difference to you?" She nodded again. I really must tell Laura and Austin that difference. "He'd just come back from Camp at the time, so he'd probably become more aware of the demigod vibe."

She burst out laughing then.

"You make it sound like some corny 80's TV show or something!" she spluttered.

I smiled, glad she wasn't on the verge of tears any more.

"C'mon," I said, standing and pulling her with me. "We've got places to be." We went a few steps before I stopped her. "You sure you're okay?"

Leila nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I'm totally fine," she said. "I just needed to find out what you knew, that's all."

I threw my arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards class.

Lunch was when it really went downhill.

* * *

After we'd finished eating, the girls and I were sat on the school wall by the front gates, talking about which gods they thought it'd be cool to meet.

"I'd love to meet Aphrodite," Leila said, hand clasped together and eyes wide. "I mean, how amazing would it be to have the Queen of Love giving, say, style advice or match-making stuff? It'd be so cool!"

It took everything in me not to roll my eyes. Leila always had been a hopeless romantic. I didn't want to ruin her little fantasy and tell her what I really thought of Aphrodite. Personally, I thought she was a selfish, scheming, self-centred, manipulative little wench who needed to learn when to keep her nose out of other people's business, but that's just me. Out loud, I didn't voice my own views because I didn't want to get attacked by anything – or anyone.

"Really?" Laura said. "I think Athena would be much better company. Aphrodite'd be all: 'Ooh, don't I look good in this' or 'Ooh, doesn't this shade of lip-stick make my eyes sparkle'. With Athena, you'd get a coherent conversation on a variety of different topics; history, theology, anything under the sun!" She smirked smugly. "Athena is the goddess of wisdom, don't you know?"

I laughed at her. Now, there was a more sensible choice.

"How about you, Austin?" I asked.

She sat and thought about it for a moment.

"Hades, I think," she said, seemingly happy with her decision.

Leila exploded. "What?" she screeched. "The dead guy?" I cringed at her choice of words. Thank the gods Hades didn't have a tendency of listening to mortal conversations…

Austin just shrugged. "I think Hades is just misunderstood," she said thoughtfully. "I mean, if you re-read the myth – or is that history? – Hades was forced into his position in the Underworld, so he might not be all that bad. Plus, can you imagine all the famous people he's met? People from all walks of life through out history. It must be amazing to have a real conversation with him."

We all sat in silence for a time. She had a point, actually. Frances had said that Hades wasn't as bad as everyone said, but I hadn't put much thought into it. But, now that Austin mentioned it, how many people had Hades met? Surely, since he was in charge of the afterlife, he should know every soul that went over the River? The next time I found Frances, I'd ask her.

"Personally," someone said behind me. "I think this is a pointless conversation that needs to be ended immediately."

I whirled around to face Sandra, leaning against the wall and looking bored at us. For once, she was on her own, not surrounded by her flock of 'loyal sheep'. (For those not familiar with the phrase, it refers to the way sheep follow the shepherd around unconditionally, like Sandra's minions do to her.)

"Can we help you?" Laura snapped.

Sandra's cold gaze raked up and down Laura disapprovingly.

"No," she said, turning to face me. "But you can. A word? In private?"

I glanced at the girls and nodded, saying it was okay for them to go.

Leila brushed against my arm, the signal for _we'll be around the corner if you need us_. I smiled gratefully at them as they left.

"Yes?" I asked, wanting to get this over with.

"You roughed up Sebastian something terrible," she said, coming into my personal space. Did these people never learn? "I want to know why."

Seriously?

"He attacked me Sandra, apparently on your orders."

Her eyes widened as she stepped back. "What?" she asked, shocked.

I frowned. "You didn't know?" I asked, thoroughly confused.

Her expression softened. "No, I had no idea."

"Oh," I said, not seeing any clearer.

"Well," as long as your stories match, I suppose that's all that matters, and I don't have to call the police." Right, call the police for her boyfriend's actions. Classy. "It still doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't?" I asked, trying to get to the bottom of this.

"Why he went after you," she explained. "I haven't seen him in days, before I learnt that you were a demigod, so I couldn't have told him."

Well, that's strange. She shrugged and walked off around the corner the girls had gone. A second later they rushed around the corner and swarmed me.

"What did she want?" Laura snapped.

"Just to see why Sebastian came home with a broken nose yesterday," I said, shrugging.

"Sebastian as in her boyfriend?" Austin asked, confused. Oops, they didn't know. I quickly retold the story, leaving Austin and Leila open mouthed and gaping. I then went on to tell mine and Sandra's conversation.

Laura looked as confused as I felt.

"Hang on," she said. "If Sandra didn't send Sebastian after you, who did?"

My thoughts exactly.

* * *

**A/N: Hahahahahaha I know I shouldn't leave you on a cliffhanger so, but I can't help it! Reviews please! Fronk x**


	12. Investigation

A few days past with no major upheaval. I'd heard nothing from Percy, or Annabeth, but then again no one told me anything. So I put all of my limited resources into finding out why Sebastian had attacked me. The thought had passed through my head that Sandra could be lying, but even though Sandra was many things a liar wasn't one of them. Maybe someone had blackmailed him into doing it? Or maybe he was just that thick that someone had convinced him that they were Sandra and tricked him into doing it?

It was now Saturday, my first full day to do what ever I wanted since the start of term and my secret being revealed. The first thing I did was sleep. I hadn't been getting much since I was too worried to let my brain rest. I awoke that morning about 8:45. (I normally get up at 6:30. This is a lay in for me).

Sleepily, I stretched and yawned. I got out of bed and trudged into the kitchen to get some breakfast. Although I was a trained warrior, I paid no attention to the god on my sofa.

"Good morning," he said, far too cheerfully for the morning. In fact, far too cheerfully for him in general.

I jumped and whirled around, my mum's dagger glinting dangerously in the morning light. There, on my dad's leather sofa with his feet up on the coffee table was Ares, god of war. His leather jacket was strewn over the back of the sofa, showing off his toned arms in his vest top. A calculating smirk was on his face and he stared at me from behind his wrap around shades. I noticed he'd already helped himself to a can of my dad's Stella Artois.

"Can I help you?" I asked coldly, slowly lowering my weapon.

His smirk vanished.

"You wanted to be kept in the loop," he snapped. "This is where it starts happening."

I was awake in a flash.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"You might wanna get dressed first," he said, looking my up and down. "I can't take you seriously with them Mickey Mouse pj's on and the fluffy slippers."

Fighting the blush creeping up my neck, I hurried back into my bedroom and got dressed. I just threw on a pair of brown cargo trousers and a black long-sleeved top. I strapped dagger sheathes to my calves and forearms, and set the spring mechanism that Leo had installed for me that meant with a flick of my wrist the daggers would come shooting out into my hands. If Ares was here I was fairly sure I'd end up in a fight, so I had to be prepared.

Before going to Ares, I dashed into the kitchen and set the toaster going. I have to have three square meals a day or I go insane.

"So," I said, sitting opposite him on a near by chair. "What's going on?"

He leaned forward in his seat, his face all business. "You know how Percy had to go to Olympus the other day?" I nodded. "That was for a Council meeting. Someone is sending people after demigods, and we have no idea who."

My eyes widened.

"The Council elected we come and tell you since we have reason to believe this has happened to you recently," he continued.

"Yeah, it has," I said. "The guy's name is Sebastian. He's the boyfriend of the leader of the girls at school that makes everyone's life a living hell. According to him Sandra sent him after me, but apparently she hasn't seen him in days."

Ares nodded. "We're getting a few reports like that. However, we have no idea as to a link between anything: there's nothing between the victims besides that they're all demigods, nothing between the attackers and nothing that suggests any celestial behaviour. To put it frankly, we're stuffed."

Well, that's always good.

"What good can I do?" I asked. "Why come to me?"

"Well," he said. "We know that you're an experienced fighter very capable of looking after yourself." He paused and sent me a pointed look. "So, we were thinking that you could investigate your attacker, this Sebastian, and see if this symbol is anywhere about his person. Do we have a deal?"  
It's not like I can say no to a god, is it?

"Sure," I said.

He nodded, satisfied. "Good." He stood abruptly. "Get your breakfast and we'll be on our way."  
On that note, the toaster pinged. I sighed. Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

About fifteen minutes later we arrived at a run down building in one of the poorer areas of London. It was probably poor because it was abandoned. Derelict building barely stood tall, the windows boarded up with rotting wood. The journey should have taken about fifty minutes, but Ares was a maniac driver.

I gratefully got off his bike and leaned again a wall, willing the street to stop spinning. It was a struggle to keep down my breakfast.

"In there," Ares said, gesturing towards the hole in a near by wall where a door should have been. "This is where Sebastian trains according to Lord Hermes. Good luck."

Poof, he was gone.

I took a deep breath. _'Okay'_, I thought, _'I can do this. Stealth and search, that's all. Nothing I haven't done before…'_

As I entered the building. The first thing to hit me was the smell. Something must have died down there. I suppose if the damp and rot didn't smell enough, the thought of about fifteen sweaty boys throwing each other around the room didn't help. Eyes watering, I carried on.

It was quite dark inside so I created a small orb of light to show me the way. I sent it up to the ceiling and expanded the light to light up a three meter radius around me as I wandered around the room. I wish I'd stayed in the dark. Cages lined the walls, battered and dented so much they looked more like torture instruments. One was actually burst open, its sharp edges dangerously close to my face.

'_So this is where Sebastian spends all of his time,' _I thought. _'That explains so much, and yet so little.'_

I heard a rustling to me left. Quickly, I snapped out one of my daggers and threw it at the sound. There was a slight thud as it implanted itself in the wall. I wondered over to retrieve it. Upon closer inspection, I saw it was actually implanted in a door, which was conveniently unlocked. Cautiously, I pushed it open.

I headed into the dark room. It was a small office, full of precarious stacks of files and papers with a bit of fighting gear in a corner. I expanded the light to fill the whole room. That was when I saw it. The symbol was painted on the far wall in blood red paint. And for once it was actually just blood coloured, not blood itself. (Don't ask, you don't want to know). I got a few pictures on my phone and turned to leave.

Then I heard the rustle again.

This time it was from the other side of the room. I ran over, still silent, to where the sound was coming from. It sounded like the rustle of clothes, but I couldn't be sure. Who would be down here with the lights off? I extinguished the light, not wanting to give my location away. Relying solely on my hearing, I stilled and listened once more.

There it was again.

I ran towards it, weaving through the maze like room. I saw a shadow out of the corner of my eye, a silhouette in the door. I leapt and rugby tackled the person to the ground. We rolled a little before I pinned them to the floor, a dagger at their throat.

Now we were outside, I could see the person. Clearly male, I guessed he would be a fair bit taller than me when stood, almost six feet. His face covered, I had no idea what he looked like. To rectify that, I yanked of the ski mask, revealing the face I despised most in the world.

I pressed the dagger a bit closer into his neck.

"Phoebus," I snarled. "What in Hades' name are you doing here?"


	13. Insightful Coversation

"I could ask you the same thing," he bit back. When I didn't relent, he sighed and pressed on. "I'm here because my father said to look into the kids who train here, said one of 'em might be a demigod. He dropped me off hear about an hour ago. I heard someone else enter, so I retreated to the office, saw the rune mark and rushed out here, where I was tackled to the ground by some stupid little girl who -"

"Stupid little girl?" I scoffed. "Is that the best you can come up with? Also, this stupid little girl has almost killed you quite a few times, so do try to keep that in mind before you start insulting me."

He bared his teeth and snarled, trying to look intimidating.

"Phoebus," I sighed. "You're about as threatening as a Chihuahua. Just stop it now before you embarrass yourself further." Then it hit me. "Hang on," I said, backing off a little. "Your dad sent you here?"

He nodded, or as much as he could with a dagger at his throat.

"Yeah," he said. "Why?"

"He sent me here too," I said.

Phoebus' eyes widened. "Really?" he asked. "But he knows we hate each other; that we'd end up ripping each other apart."

"Maybe that's the point," I said, hopefully connecting the dots in the right places.

I got off him and helped him up. Looking disdainfully at me, he brushed some imaginary dust off his shoulder, giving me a 'do continue' look.

"Lord Ares told me about the other demigods being attacked, and that they all have something in common with the mark that was on that office wall. He said that I was the only one anyone could think of to investigate this guy called Sebastian who attacked me. Ares dropped me off here about half an hour ago."

Phoebus looked confused. "There are no other attacks," he said slowly, as if talking to a small child. "I didn't even know you'd been attacked – I'd have congratulated the guy who had the nerve to go after you." At my unimpressed look, he smirked and carried on. "I really wasn't expecting you. In fact, I'm fairly sure this is the most civil conversation we've ever had. Don't you think?"

Well, he did have a point there.

"I suppose," I said. "Do you think he set us up on purpose, hoping to have us fight?"

He shook his head. "No, 'cause then he'd have to come down here and sort us out. It is suspicious that you've now been targeted twice."

I made a noise of agreement. "Think someone's out to get me? Beside you, I mean," I added hastily before he could interject.

He just laughed. "Could be," he said. "Pissed anyone off lately?"

I paused to think about it. I'd been to Camp over Easter break, but I hadn't come across any gods that visit. I did go to Camp Jupiter for the first time, though, and I think having a Greek breathing on their property pisses them off. I hadn't made any enemies in particular. Except for maybe…

"Could a demigod with a big enough grudge somehow orchestrate all of this?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "I guess. Why, who'd you annoy now?"

I ignored the self-satisfied smirk playing on his lips.

"Over Easter I went to Camp Jupiter and -"

"You went there and lived?" he asked. "I thought they'd've eaten you alive!"

I pursed my lips, beginning to get a little ticked off.

"Thank you for that vote of confidence, Phoebus," I said dryly. "Yes, I went to Camp Jupiter and I managed to annoy quite a few people: some more than others. Do you think any of them could have done it?"

He cocked his head in thought. "No, I doubt it. No demigod could have the power to manipulate this many people against you like has been happening. If they knew the right people, however, that could open all sorts of doors."  
"The right kind of people?" I asked. "Like who?"

He shrugged. "Anyone really. You sure you haven't pissed off anyone important?"

"I really don't think I have," I said, my brow creasing.

"It's strange you haven't accused me of this," he said, stepping closer, backing me up to the wall. "I mean, I do hate you," he whispered.

"Not your style," I said, leaning away from him. "This plot is far too complicated for you. You're more 'stab-you-in-the-chest' than 'stab-you-in-the-back', don't you think?"

He inclined his head. "Touché," he said slyly.

"Mind backing off a bit?" I asked, trying to remain calm.

He just leaned in closer. "Why?" he asked, his breath tickling my lips. "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

I smirked slightly. "I was thinking more for your health than my discomfort," I said.

"The offer still stands, you know," he said, placing one hand on the wall behind me by my head and the other on my right arm. "If you ever feel lonely, you know how to get in touch – Oof!"

I punched him in the gut; winding him and making him double over.

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you, Phoebus," I said in his ear. "I'm not interested. Go get a life and pick on someone else, eh?"

He stood up straight and glared at me. "You really have a death wish, don't you?" he growled.

"I have the strangest feeling of déjà vu," I said. "Haven't we been here before: you come on to me, I tell you to back off, you threaten me, I annoy you, we fight, I win. Isn't that how this normally goes?"

He roared and swung for me. I caught his arm, twisted it behind his back and shoved him up against the wall, a dagger over his heart from the back.

"And this was going so well," I said, disappointment lacing my voice. "Although, I suppose I should thank you: you've given my much to think about. But, I am going to have to leave you now."

I smacked him upside the head and knocked him out. Stepping over him, I walked down the road in search of a bus stop. On my way, I thought over what had been said. I did owe Phoebus for thickening the plot. So, according to Ares I was sent there to investigate the attacks, but according to Phoebus there were no other attacks. If there weren't any more attacks, why had Percy had to go? Why had Ares sent me here? Who was really pulling the strings?

I glanced at my watch. 11:54, Still plenty of time to do my own investigating. I made a plan to do some travelling, talk to the people I knew I could always trust. Time to IM a few people…

* * *

**A/N: I just want to take this opportunity to that everyone who's supported this story. Everyday when I check my emails I see 'review alert' or 'new favourite story'. It's a really nice feeling to know people are enjoying my, so I'm going to try my very best to update more often to keep you all loyal! Thank you! Fronk x**


	14. A Dream

I opened the door to my apartment, grabbed a can of Coca-Cola and headed for the sofa. Before I planned anything, I needed ten minutes to recuperate. Sighing gratefully, I turned on the TV, hoping to catch the end of the news.

'_And now to revisit our top story'_, the presenter said. _'In the Waterloo area of London, the first of what we assume to be many attacks from Greek monsters happened. The army was called in and the situation is now under control, but many are unsatisfied with this out come. The public's questions are still unanswered: why was this attack allowed to happen? What precautions are the government taking to make sure more innocent lives aren't lost? And where were the gods, or even their demigod children?'_

I switched off the TV. With everything else going on at the minute, stressing about a monster attack was the last thing I needed. Instead, I just closed my eyes for a minute… a minute which turned out to be close to 83 minutes, as I kind of fell asleep. However, it wasn't a total waste. As well as feeling more refreshed than before, I also had a very insightful conversation.

* * *

_The dream began in a mist filled white room. I could barely see my hand in front of my face. All I could see was white every where, which really disorientated me. I also felt a little dizzy, as being surrounded by one colour often made me feel. It was a plane room I was in, with no furniture, doors or windows – or other people. I took a cautious step forward and immediately regretted it. The room swam around me. I decided sitting would be the better idea, so that's what I did. _

"_Why sit on the floor when there's chairs over here?" a female voice called through the mist._

"_I'm good here, thanks," I called back, unsure who I was talking to._

_Light chuckling drifted towards me. "You get no choice in the matter," the voice chastised._

_A second later I was sat in a stiff wooden chair facing a similar chair whose occupant was a person I'd never seen in my waking hours. She had flowing black hair, pale olive coloured skin and a sombre expression on her face. Clothed in a flattering black dress, she would have been truly beautiful if she wasn't constantly fidgeting with it as if she wanted to rip it from her body._

"_Hi," I said._

"_Good afternoon," she said, becoming silent once more._

_A beat passed. "And you are…?" I probed, hoping to get conversation out of her before I awoke._

"_I am the goddess Persephone," she said, her tone neutral. "And I have brought you here to tell you what the symbol is you are seeing everywhere."_

_Finally, I was getting somewhere._

_Persephone began._

"_It is an ancient rune known as Hagalaz, a powerful rune for destruction in the Ancient world. It also evokes the wrath of nature, which is how I know of its existence. In addition, it gives the user power over uncontrolled forces whilst also giving a loss of power, depending on how the rune is cast._

"_Only a very powerful sorcerer can use runes such as this and hide their identity. We Greeks do not condone the use of the old magic as it is a primal and the results often not what the user bargained for. The Council are currently trying to discover the perpetrator as we speak. That was why Percy Jackson was called from your school, as well as Annabeth Chase from her Parliament meeting._

"_As for Ares' actions, he claims to have no idea of the incident occurring when questions on his return to Olympus. Lord Apollo was the one to do the questioning, so we know he is speaking the truth. Lord Ares then promptly collapsed and is currently being treated in the infirmary on Mt Olympus."_

_There's an infirmary? Who knew?_

"_His son is still unconscious, by the way," she continued. "We're going to leave him there and let him awake in his own time. He's going to be very angry when he awakes, you know."_

_I shrugged. "He's a big boy," I said mockingly. "I'm sure he can take care of himself." I leaned forward on my chair, resting my elbows on my knees. "What I really want to know," I said, "Is why you're the one telling me all of this. How do I know I can trust you?"_

_Her delicate forehead creased in confusion. "What reason do you have to distrust me?" she asked._

"_You turned my best friend's boyfriend into a daffodil, for starters," I said. I saw anger flicker in her eyes, so I pressed on. "Also, we've never met before. How do I even know you are Persephone? You could be a vision sent from the one orchestrating all of this, sent to confuse me even more than I already am."_

_The goddess – if she was – stood and moving directly in front of me._

"_Look me in the eye, demigod," she said, dangerously quiet. I stood and did so. "Do you think if I weren't the goddess of spring, if I didn't have to spend six months of my life trapped in a living hell, away from my family, from my realm, I would have the pain in my eyes that you see now? The permanent look of sorrow? Now tell me I am no who I claim to be."_

_I saw all she described. I had never seen someone so unhappy. I'm sure she would have ended her life by now if she were not immortal and that chance taken away from her. No one could fake that despair, no illusion could create it. That was pure and heartfelt pain, nothing less._

"_Forgive me, my Lady," I said quietly, bowing my head. _

_She sat back down and motioned for me to do the same. "It is alright, Eden. I would question you if you were not suspicious. You will need all your wits about you if you are to uncover this mystery. It seems you are the only one to be targeted, so you are the one closest to finding out the truth. Even though it was a set-up today, I believe investigating the boy who attacked you is a good place to start. Although, I think finding Sebastian himself may be a better way of going about things. And know that anything a resident of the Underworld can help with, we shall."_

_I smiled gratefully. Now I had my mother, Poseidon and the entire Underworld on my side. Turns out today wasn't such a bad day after all._

"_Thank you, Lady Persephone," I said, lowering my head in respect._

"_You are most welcome, Eden." The ghost of a smile passed her lips. "You are, after all, named after one of my favourite gardens."_

_The ground shook in the dream. A look of worry flashed Persephone's face before turning impassive once more._

"_I believe our time is up, Eden," she said, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Someone is trying to break the spell I cast bringing you here. Perhaps the person causing your strife? I shall look into it further. Goodbye for now, dear."_

* * *

I awoke with a start. My dreams never were just dreams – I'd looked into enough demigod theology to know that – but could I trust it? Shaking myself, I rummaged around for a note pad and pen. I then proceeded to write down everything that had happened to me over the past week; Sebastian's attack, Ares' mission, Phoebus and I's conversation and the dream with Persephone.

Something fell out of the back of the notepad – my mother's note. How had that gotten there? I could have sworn I'd put it on my bedside table…

The second line stood out for me: 'These next few days will show you many things, child. Pay attention'. Pay attention to what? If someone at school had magic this strong, surly I would know about it. There were no new people to my knowledge, nothing out of the ordinary. The only thing that had changed recently was…

Henry.


	15. Field Research

**Hey guys, so sorry it's been ages since the last update. I thought with having finally broken up for the summer I'd have more time to write, but I seem to be busier than before! Thank you for staying with me. Read and review! **

**P.S: The 'London Fight Factory' mentioned in this chapter is a real institution in London, in the location mentioned. All things mentioned to do with them belongs to them and I have nothing to do with it.**

**Enjoy!**

**Fronk x**

* * *

The rest of my Saturday was spent researching this mysterious symbol that kept popping up everywhere. I'd already decided to go to Sebastian tomorrow (I would have to find out where to find him at some point) so the rest of the day would be devoted to research. After a few hours of going through every rune book I could find online (I did have very little information to go on), I found it:

_Hagalaz: (H: Hail.) Wrath of nature, destructive, uncontrolled forces, especially the weather, or within the unconscious. Tempering, testing, trial. Controlled crisis, leading to completion, inner harmony._

_(In opposition): Natural disaster, catastrophe, stagnation, loss of power. Pain, loss, suffering, hardship, sickness, crisis._

Well, that sounds cheerful. It came from the Norse alphabet, but who used Norse magic? If it were an Egyptian hieroglyph, I'd understand, but it's not like the Norse gods exist. I had never heard of people using runes to do magic except in fantasy novels.

Who could I go to for help? None of the gods I'd met had anything to do with magic. As much good as Internet Explorer was, there was no way that it could give me the in depth knowledge I'd need to reverse or defeat this rune. There was always Hecate, the goddess of magic, but I'd never met her and had no way of getting in contact with her – I'd heard she didn't have the best of relations with demigods after the incident on her daughter's island, and she didn't answer IM's very often. I doubt any of the other gods would help me if what Persephone had said was true and they 'do not condone the use of the old magic'.

What was a girl to do?

Deciding to put this conundrum on hold for the time being, I decided to go and find Sebastian. How hard could it be to find a cage fighting gym in London? Looking at the Google search, very. You'd be surprised how many there were.

Then I had an idea. Why try to find Sebastian when I knew Sandra? I logged on to Facebook and found her profile in no time. She doesn't have any security features, so I could see all of her status' – quite dangerous, actually.

(Before anyone starts, I know demigods can't use the internet or have mobile phones. However, Lord Hermes has created a new version with such a high frequency that monsters can't pick up on it, which he asked me to trail. I've had it for about four months now and since nothing has happened I'm going to continue to use it.)

One of her more recent status' read: _Go babe! What a way to win! – with Sebastian Oznerol, at London Fight Factory'_. That's where I'd start looking. I Google searched it, and came up with the right place. I clicked on the 'Location' tab and got an address. Checking the Underground map, I planned my rout and headed off.

After getting the Victoria Line north at Green Park station, changing at Euston to the Northern Line east to Angel station and walking along City Road then turning right onto East Road, I found it. The building was situated in a slightly run down area, but nice enough. It had a black gear on the outside with 'London Fight Factory' in white letters around the edge. I headed inside.

The inside was a lot nicer than the outside, I have to say. The front desk was a white washed room with a neat looking desk at one end. The desk was unoccupied, so I had a look at the notice board next to it. There was a list of classes with prices next to them, and a timetable of when the classes were. I couldn't find any cage fighting classes, but there were wrestling and MMA classes, which I'm pretty sure Sandra had said Sebastian did. According to this, he'd just be finishing a MMA class before going onto a wrestling one – if he were here at all. Just then, a flustered looking secretary appeared.

"Can I help you?" she asked, her condescending voice had a nasally quality to it. I automatically took a dislike to her. She wore shorts that barely passed as shorts and something that resembled a vest but was more a scrap of material, her long dirty blonde hair pulled back in a high bun.

Fantastic.

I put on my fake smile and answered: "Yes, I'm looking for Sebastian Oznerol. Is he here?"

She popped her gum and stared at me. A moment dragged by. I raised an eyebrow at her. Eventually, she sighed and flicked through what looked like a register.

"Yeah, he's here," she said, a bored expression on her face. "In room 18 - the one without a door. You can't miss it."

I nodded my thanks and headed down the corridor she pointed too. I walked down it, hearing grunts and the smack of flesh of flesh as my mind painted pictures of muscle men knocking the sense out of each other in various different ways. I realise it's slightly hypocritical of me, being a warrior and looking down my nose at these fighters, but the way I fight is for survival, not the satisfaction of winning against an opponent.

I found room 18 without any problem as promised, and found Sebastian in it too. He was sweaty from a MMA fight (mixed martial arts, for those who don't know) and had the beginnings of a black eye forming. Sandra won't be happy about that. I hung around until he was the only one left in the room. I made my move.

"Sebastian," I called. He spun around at the sound of my voice.

"You," he snarled. Wow, aggressive much.

"Yeah," I said, putting on a brave face. "Me. I've got a few questions for you. Care to answer them?"

I could see the conflicting emotions on his face. Rage. Depression. Confusion. There was a faint glowing from behind him, putting a distorted image on the wall. The Hagalaz.

I rushed up to him and spun him around. A blazing white H, the Hagalaz was burnt into his neck, right in the middle between his hairline and shirt collar. It looked painful, like it was scorching his flesh. I had no way of stopping it.

"Sebastian," I said, my voice breaking with shock. "Who did this to you?"

His voice hoarse, he said quietly: "Her."

That was helpful. I shook him for a further explanation.

"My mistress," he said. "The one bound by blood to the one she serves, put this mark on me. I am her uncontrollable force of nature." With that, he lost his struggle and fell unconscious onto the floor by my feet.

That had got to be the most eloquent statement I'd ever heard him utter. But it wasn't particularly helpful. Who was this 'her', and who was she bound to? Propping Sebastian up against a near by wall, I left with more questions and no answers what so ever.

* * *

Before I went home I stopped by the local library. This place was the second biggest library I'd ever been in – nothing I've seen beats the Athena cabin library. I was also quite close to the head librarian, Marissa, who I'd known since I was about five. I met her when I was running from a monster, even though I didn't know what it was at the time, and took refuge in the library. As a mortal who can see through the Mist, she'd come in very useful over the years.

If anyone knew where to find a book, it'd be her.

"Hi Marissa," I said happily but quietly. We were in a library, after all. She was sat at the front desk, her sleek brown hair plaited down her back with flowers braided into it. Glancing up from what ever book she was reading – I don't think it was in English – and smiled broadly.

"Eden, dear. It is good to see you again!" she whispered excitedly, hugging me over the counter. "How are you?"

"Good thank you, and you?" I asked.

She smiled. "Good thank you. How can I help you?"

I leaned in a little closer. "I'm here on official business," I said, looking up at the sky.

She caught on quickly. "Oh? Follow me, then."

There was a restricted area at the back of the library for 'godly' books, full of legends that weren't legends and things that normal people wouldn't dream of believing. Marissa's family have been Keepers of these particular books for generations. Again, very useful to know.

She unlocked the door and led me in.

"Anything specific you're looking for?" she asked, all business now.

"Is there anything in here on Norse runes, and maybe the type of people who use them?" I asked.

She looked momentarily dazed by my request, but nodded and walked to a bit of the room I'd never seen before. The further back we went, the darker and danker the room became. The lighting became increasingly worse, and the dust was tickling my nose. The books here looked aged and uncared for – very unusual for any part of the library, especially this part.

"Not come down here often?" I asked.

Melissa looked at me wide eyed over her shoulder and shook her head. I'd never seen her this spooked before. I decided not to press the subject. It wasn't like I needed something else to worry over.

Finally, we arrived at the very back shelf of the room.

"Here," she said, pointing at a few choice shelves. "All the Norse stuff is on these shelves. Too far right and you go Egyptian, too far left and the Celtic stuff starts – and trust me, you don't want to go there. As ever, these books can't leave this room, so I'll have to lock the door. Ring the bell when you're done, yeah?"

I nodded, thanking her as she left.

I looked dismayed at the books before me. They were probably in this state because the use of 'old magic' isn't condoned by the gods. Sighing, I got to work. I started leafing through the titles. Only a few jumped out of me. Gingerly, not wanting to hurt the books, I pulled out 'Norse Runes: A Basic Guide', 'Advanced Runes' and 'Rune Warlocks'. Maybe something would be in here as to reversal or clues to the user themselves. Glancing around and spotting a comfy looking chair, I sat down and started the first book. Given the size of the book, I was in for a long afternoon.


	16. Confusing Messages

I didn't get home until very late that night. Unlike most libraries, this one was always open – for me, at least. I did apologise to Marissa for keeping her so long, but she shrugged it off and said she was used to me by now. I'd learnt a hell of a lot today, I needed a break to process it all. Turns out runes themselves are mainly used for runecasting, which is different from fortune telling. There is no specific way of 'reversing' a rune once it has been cast. However, you can counteract it with a rune of opposite meaning or a more powerful rune. The trick now was to find that opposite rune.

However, it was far too late now, so I just headed home. Thankfully, there were no interruptions – no attacks, no visits, nothing. Actually, there was very little anything on the streets. Strange.

I unlocked the front door of my apartment and walked inside. It wasn't until the front room I flipped the lights on. Everything looked fine at first, but then I took a closer look around the room.

The first thing I noticed was that my notes had gone. All of them. I left them on my table before I left, and now they were gone. Then I noticed the little things around the room: objects moved, the coffee table up against the wrong wall, the suspicious looking green splats standing out against the pale laminate flooring. Intrigued, I followed these splats.

They took me to my father's room. Uh oh. I picked up the pace a little then, worried. I threw open the door and froze. There was writing on the far wall, splashed over his prized collection of paintings, stretching around to his wardrobe. That was going to be fun to explain when he came home.

Scrawled across the walls in ornate script were the words:

_Du kjenner ikke hvem du har å gjøre med_.

I ran from the room and started up my laptop. Why did someone have to use a language I didn't know? I quickly typed in what I saw and the translation came up:

_You don't know who you're dealing with._

If that wasn't a threat, I didn't know what was. They must have broken in somehow that didn't involve the door, because it was locked when I came in. Unless they had a key? But how could that be? No one had a key to the apartment except for my father and I. There was a spare outside the front door, but the only people who knew about that were… the girls. It wasn't under a flowerpot or the welcome mat like most people's (mainly because there isn't a flower pot or welcome mat), so it's not like anyone could have found it. Unless, of course, the culprit was persistent enough to try all of the bricks outside the door and find the loose one with the key behind it.

No, it had to be someone who knew it was there. I ran my hand over the paint and it came off on my fingers. Still wet. However, it didn't have the usual consistency of paint – it was thicker, and had clumps in it. No professional company sold this sort of stuff. Maybe it was home made? But who has the time to make paint?

Rubbing my eyes, I glanced at me watch. 11:36. It was later than I thought. Sighing, I decided to leave the amateur detective work until the morning. It could wait that long. After changing and running a brush through my hair, I curled up in my room and drifted off to sleep. If only my night could have been restful.

My dream was scattered, the imaged fractured. There was no real plot to it, just random images of people, places, and things I'd never seen before, specifically weapons. There were, however, three that kept reappearing in the visions.

The first was another rune. It looked like an F, but slightly slanted. This kept appearing everywhere: in people's faces, in the sky as clouds, burnt into the ground where a forest once stood. Never was it in the same place twice. It was the most fleeting, never appearing for more than a second. Was this something I was meant to see, or a side effect of whatever was sending me these visions?

The next was a palace. Well, I say palace; city was probably more accurate. It had high spires that were more like tubes. It looked like a giant shell. The palace was made of what seemed to be pure gold – it was gold in colour, at least. The sky behind the palace was a soft blue with pink clouds, giving the impression of a sun just setting. I occasionally saw a person walking around in the strangest of armour; muscle bound men with stern expressions that looked like perfect guards. The armour they wore bared no recognisable insignia. It looked too shiny to be medieval, yet made of too much metal to be anything else. Where was this I was seeing?

The final picture was a man. He was dreadfully pale with high cheekbones and a strong jaw. His eyes were the most vibrant shade of green, his hair the shade of darkest night. The way he walked was more like prowling than walking, as if he were a wild cat stalking his prey. This man too wore the strange armour, but it was clearly of a higher standard than the other men's: It was gold and black, with intricate designs on the chest plate. I kept seeing him in a variety of different places, with many different people, but often he was by himself surrounded by books in some form of a study. He had strings of runes flowing around him, so I assumed he must be very skilled in the old magic. Who was this man? Was he the mastermind behind all of this?

I also saw scenes of a meeting between this man and a smaller figure in a hood. There was no way of telling who this person was, but guessing by the person in the hood's slight stature, they were probably female. Notably, there were angry red runes – primarily one that looked like a line crossed diagonally from right to left – surrounding their being. The runes seemed to swerve nearer to the man whenever they rotated near him. Was he the one who cast the spell? Why did it look so aggressive?

These visions came in stops and starts, coming to me every time I drifted off to sleep. I woke up in a cold sweat every other hour or so. When it reached six thirty, I couldn't take it any more. Sluggishly, I kicked the duvet cover off of my sleepy form and headed into the kitchen.

After getting some breakfast, I went back into my father's room to investigate the mysterious message further. I was disappointed, however. When I entered the room I found it clean, as if the green paint had never been there. Startled, I touched the wall. The words hadn't even been painted over. It was as if they had never been there. Cautiously, I walked back into the rest of the apartment. I noticed the coffee table was back where it had always been, my notes also returned.

What was happening? I picked up my notes and read through them fully. There was green ink crossing out some of my notes and the same ink correcting a few spelling mistakes, but other than that it was exactly as I'd left it. Who would steel my notes and correct the spelling?

I checked what had been crossed out. The part about any Roman demigods being involved was crossed out repeatedly. Was this to say that it was completely absurd, or that I was dead on? Somehow, I thought the former. I don't think someone clever enough to cover up a phantom break in would double bluff like this. Still, I wasn't going to completely disregard the theory.

Also crossed out was Phoebus' name, but that didn't surprise me. I hadn't really suspected him anyway. It was crossed out rather savagely, actually. Maybe this person liked Phoebus as much as I did – which is to say, not at all. They were the only major things crossed out: a few side notes I'd made as they'd come to me had also been crossed out, probably because they weren't related to the text itself.

Sighing, I threw the pieces of paper down on the table once more. I put my head in my hands. Just when I think I'm getting somewhere, something completely unexpected happens. Who ever I'm dealing with, they're right. I have no idea who I'm dealing with.


	17. Strange Place For A First Encounter

**Hey! Just as a warning this is a really long chapter. Sorry about that. I got a little carried away, I guess... Anyway, hope you like it! Fronk x**

* * *

After a long, hot shower to wake myself up and distress a little, I got dressed and went back into the front room. What do to now? I wasn't going to bother finding out where the message had come from and then disappeared too – I suspected that was some how magical and I only just had a basic knowledge, not enough to figure this out. Maybe finding out the rune from the dream? Yes, that sounded like a good idea.

I headed back to the library. I often found looking through books was quicker than searching online as you had the resource right in front of you. It's a shame I never got there.

Just around the corner, I was stopped with a: "Oi! Eden!"

I turned to see a very angry looking Sandra storming towards me.

'_I really don't have time for this,' _I thought bitterly.

"Yes, Sandra?" I said politely when she was close enough for me not t have to holler.

She raised her hand and made a move to back hand me. I grabbed it well before it got anywhere near my face. I'd had to get Leila out of one too many bitch-fights with Sandra and had no interest getting in one myself.

"How about telling me what you want without the violence, huh?" I asked.

She snarled. Actually snarled.

"What did you do to my Sebastian?" she seethed.

"I don't know," I said, utterly flummoxed. The last I'd seen of him he'd fallen unconscious at my feet. "What did I do to him?"

"You assaulted him!" she spat.

"I thought we'd already dealt with this?" I said.

"So did I!" she said. "I mean yesterday when you stalked him to the Fight Factory and assaulted him! He's now in that new University Collage Hospital blubbering gibberish with a severe case of amnesia."

I thought back to me meeting with Persephone in my dream. Lord Ares also had no memory of our encounter, and then fell unconscious. Could this be a side effect of the rune's spell?

"What kind of gibberish?" I asked, intrigued. Maybe he could answer some of my questions now more so than he did yesterday.

"I have no idea. Something about his 'mistress' and how she'd be disappointed in him. He kept saying 'h' as well, like he wanted to get a word out but couldn't quite. The most he gets out is 'he', but that's it. Why, afraid he'll say something incriminating?" she snapped.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Sandra, there are much bigger things here than your boyfriend's memory problems and lack of speech. You may want to worry about this mistress – that's another name for someone he's having an affair with. Ever think he's cheating on you?"

Okay, I know that was mean, and kind of a low blow, but it would keep her off my back for a while – and more importantly, away from Sebastian. If I were to find out anything, I couldn't do it with her breathing over my shoulder.

She blinked her eyes in shock. I could see the tears forming behind them. Uh oh.

"Y-you really think he could b-be cheating on m-me?" she asked shakily.

I sighed. "I have no idea, Sandra," I said. "I'm just trying to interpret a sick man's rambling. But it is something you should always look in to, yeah?"

She nodded and walked right by me, seemingly in a daze. I hope she'll be okay…

I headed off to the University Collage Hospital. It's a new hospital that has an excellent young persons unit, so he was probably being cared for there. These mortal doctors had no idea what they were dealing with if this was some form of side-effect.

You could see the building from a mile off: It is a giant glass structure standing out from everything else there. Slightly in awe, I headed inside to the reception.

"Can I help you?" the perky nurse said at the desk. She wasn't over the top happy like some I'd met, but not miserable, either.

I smiled. "Yes, I'm looking for Sebastian Oznerol. I heard he was admitted here recently?"

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "How are you related to him?"

"I'm his cousin," I lied. I'd gotten so used to saying I was someone's cousin, it came naturally now.

Still dubious, she looked down at her computer screen.

"Mr Oznerol is on the third floor in the young people's unit," she said. "If you go into that elevator there and go up, turn left on the third floor and follow the purple signs. Press the buzzer by the door and someone'll let you in. I'll send a message to them to expect you. Tell the person at the desk there you're here to see Mr Oznerol and they'll point you in the right direction. Okay?"

"Lovely, thank you," I said, heading on my way.

Hospitals always depressed me. To think of all the pain and suffering the happened here, all the death… I get a little freaked out. It's also the feeling of being helpless, of being too weak to do anything for yourself. That's why I'm always in these places only as long as I need to be. Even the infirmary at Camp makes me feel uneasy, and I know no on there would ever hurt me.

I pressed the buzzer and a shrill ringing filled the air. A moment later I heard a faint click that signalled the door unlocking. Who was on the other side that meant the door needed locking? Shaking off that disturbing thought, I headed inside. I asked the young man at the desk where to find Sebastian, and he took me too him.

"I'm afraid you can't stay for long," he said, his Irish accent strong. "He's still very unstable. The slightest thing could set him off into another seizure."

"I won't be long, I promise," I said, meaning it for once.

He nodded and stopped by a curtain.

Pulling it back, I saw Sebastian. It took me a moment to recognise him. His face was turned away from me, but I could see it was ashen, sunken. He'd lost a lot of weight, I could tell. I gasped at the sight, drawing his eyes to me. They were so bloodshot there was hardly any white.

"I'll leave you alone," the man said, walking away.

"Eden," Sebastian croaked, reaching his hand for mine. I stepped closer, but not close enough for him to touch me. If he turned violent, I didn't want to be any where near him.

"Who did this to you?" I whispered.

"She did," he said, casting his eyes upward. "My mistress. She came to me, said her master had told her to play with you. For learner, she is powerful. She put that glowing thing on my neck and I was under her power. I couldn't do anythin' to stop 'er."

"Play with me?" I asked, confused. "What do you mean?"

"All this is nothing serious in his eyes," Sebastian said slowly. "It's a bit of a test to see what the demigods of Earth are made of. He chose you 'cause you don't have much family around to help you out. He wanted to see what you could do on your own."

"Who is this mistress of yours?" I asked. "Or who is her master?"

"I don't know him, only 'er. She's real close to you. Her name's He -"

Just then his face contorted in pain. He cried out in obvious agony. Regardless, he kept trying to tell me.

"Ssh," I cooed, wanting to calm him down. "It's okay."

"Not for you it isn't," he said, in a voice not his own. When he opened his eyes once more, they shone a vibrant green.

"I am the one you seek," he said, the voice breathy but still articulate. "I am the one orchestrating all of this. But we shall not meet until I see fit."

"How can you be so sure?" I asked defiantly.

He just chuckled darkly. "Pathetic demigod, you have no hope of finding me. Unless inter-dimensional travel is a forte of yours?" He laughed at his own joke. "Regardless," he said, sobering. "You have done well to come this far in my little game, far better than I initially thought. You are so very close. And all in a few days! Very resourceful; the trips to the library, using that hand held device that seems to have the answer to every question and making notes." Had he been watching me? "I hope you found my clues and corrections helpful."

There was a brief pause, as if he became distracted.

"I believe soon you shall come to the answers you seek. However, when you find them do not blame her. She too is a meagre pawn on my chess board."

She? The elusive she who's Sebastian's mistress, maybe?

"Don't I even get a name, oh great one?" I asked mockingly.

He laughed fully then, a strange look on Sebastian's face.

"I think not, little one," he said, laughing slightly. "We will meet, I can assure you of that, and if you ask me I shall not lie. Goodbye and good luck, Eden Lee Llewellyn."

With that, Sebastian's eyes returned to his natural colour. They widened in pain briefly before shutting heavily. The monitors next to his bed began beeping and flashing alarmingly. A herd of doctors came in to care for him, herding me out abruptly. Someone went so far as to escort me to the front door. Not that I really noticed. My mind was reeling too much from the conversation – or was it more a monologue? – with the mastermind behind this. If it were all a game to him, why did my life and sanity seem to be at risk? He must be some form of higher being if he were to play with life so easily.

I hopped on the Underground to go back home. Down the road from the apartment building entrance, I was stopped once more.

"Hey, brat," a voice called. A voice I'd recognise anywhere.

"Finally come to, have you, Phoebus?" I sneered.

"No thanks to you," he snapped. "What did you think you were doing, leaving me for dead in the middle of a city I don't know?"

"And yet you constantly seem to find me," I mumbled. A bit clearer, I said: "And I could hardly leave you for dead when you're immortal. Just in case you didn't know, that means you can't die."

He rushed up to me, but I didn't shrink away. My day had already been far too long for me to tolerate his hissy fits.

"Apologise," he said sternly, trying to look intimidating.

"For what?" I asked. "Teaching you a lesson? Putting you in your place? Again?"

Then he lost it. He threw a punch in my general direction, which I caught and sent him spinning. When he finally regained his footing, he bared his teeth and growled. He came at me again. Not even bothering to fight him, I just flashed a dazzling beam of light straight into his eyes. Blinding, he stumbled around as if drunk. Sighing, I grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pressed him up against a wall. He groaned.

"Now, Phoebus," I said menacingly into his ear. "I've told you time and time again to piss off and leave me alone. Why is it you can never seem to grasp that concept?"

Whilst I was here, I checked the back of his neck for a Hagalaz. Thankfully, he was clear. Now I could truly rule him out from my theories.

"How about this? Usually, you visit me about twice, maybe three times, a year. You've now seen me twice in as many days. Why don't you leave me alone for say… the rest of the year? Maybe a little longer? That way we'll keep it even and I won't have to look at your sorry excuse for an existence for a good long while. Sound good?"

He mumbled something in response. I pushed him a little further into the wall.

"What was that?"

Smirking slightly, he said: "I said; it feels so good having you pressed up against me. Although, if I had my way we'd be facing each other, doing a little more than pressing..."

I dug my nails into his neck, drawing ichor. He hissed in pain. My drawing his immortal blood hurt his ego more than him physically.

"Do not make me call someone down here to deal with you," I said.

He stiffened and blanched. Too right.

"A year, did you say?" he said, a few notes of squeaking.

"Perfect," I said, smiling smugly.

"I'm sure I can keep to that."

"Good."

I could feel him starting to transport as only a god can. I turned my back. The golden glow grew slowly larger and larger, the heat intensifying. With a final push, the light grew to its most fantastic before receding completely. Checking to see he was really gone, I let out a breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding. I headed up to my apartment to write down these new developments. The day was still young, and I had a fair bit of research to do. Maybe I'll make it to the library after all.


	18. Discovering Runes

I wrote down everything that had happened at the hospital, gaining a few more 'key questions'. I suppose the main thing was to figure out who this 'He-' was. Maybe starting with Norse Mythology? That sounded like a good idea.

I typed in 'Norse Mythology He' and clicked on the first suggestion, making the He, Hel. I found out she was the guardian of the realm Hel, which we refer to as hell. She was outcast from Asgard because she was too ugly to fit in with the Ǣsir, a lot like Hephaestus was outcast from Olympus. I also found out that her symbol is the Hagalaz. Now I had a palpable connection between the two. I wrote that down in big letters, circling and underling for effect.

Just as I was about to look a bit further into it, there was a knock at the door. Closing my laptop and hiding my notes, I went over to answer it.

"Rose?" I asked, thoroughly surprised to see the little demigod here.

"Hi, Eden," she said happily. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," I said, moving back and opening the door.

She sat herself down on the sofa.

"So, what's up?" I asked.

"My dad came to me," she said, a little self conscious. "He got a letter address to you the other day, but it had no return address. When he tried to open it, he couldn't. I think whoever wrote this only wanted you to see it." She got the letter from her bag. "My dad asked me to give it to you. Said it'd get me out the house and save him time all at once."

I inspected the letter. The paper was thicker than average, a dusty brown colouring. My name was scrawled across the front in elegant green ink, shining slightly. It was the same handwriting as on the wall, and on my notes. It was from him.

"Thank you, Rose," I said. "I'll open it later, eh?"

She jumped up a little. "Oh, of course!" she said hurriedly. "I'll leave you be, I'm sure you're very busy!" She made for the door.

I grabbed her arm. "There's no need for you to go if you don't want to," I said.

She shook her head, smiling. "No, I'm okay, thank you. I should be getting home anyway. My mum doesn't like me out on my own for too long."

"If you're sure," I said to her, opening the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow!" she said, waving as she left.

"See you," I said. "And thank you for the letter!"

I closed the door and sat back down, the letter in my hands. I stared at the handwriting, trying to decipher who could be behind it. One of my cousins – on my dad's side - was very interested in graphology, the study of people's handwriting. I tried to remember what she'd said about it.

The writing itself was rather small. I remember that means that the writer is not all that confident yet can also indicate a great thinker or academic type. The pressure of the writing was heavy on the page as I could see where it had dented the envelope. This indicated commitment and a serious nature. However, the writing itself was slanted to the left, which I remember to mean that the writer has many reserves and is true to themselves before anyone else. This can mean they are resentful to people who try to force responsibility on them.

I quickly wrote all of that down so I didn't forget. I also wrote 'double check' next to it because whilst I was confident in my memory, I may have gotten a few things wrong.

Then I went to open the letter. I hooked my thumb under the leaf of the envelope and tugged. It didn't budge. I tried again: still nothing. Why couldn't I open my own mail? I turned it back over. There was Eden Lee Llewellyn in green script, so it was definitely for me. So what was the problem? Then I noticed the rune drawn onto the envelope. It was a simple line, but I recognised it. This was Isa, meaning a challenge or frustration. Basically the envelope was sealed.

Why send me a sealed envelope? Sighing, I set it aside. It was no use to me at the minute. I glanced at the clock on the wall: 12:45. I put together some lunch and sat back down. I thought about tomorrow, pushing the letter out of my mind. I'd have to keep an eye out for any more runes I could spot. Maybe find a way to reverse them? Apparently the reverse version of that rune worked as they cancelled each other out, but how to cast a rune? I'd look into it. Spotting the runes themselves would be tricky, because they would be tricky to spot. How to over come that?

Then I had an idea. Starting my laptop back up, I searched for rune meanings once more. There was this rune, Ansuz, which looked like a slanted F. With a start, I realised it was the same one from my dream. Someone was showing me true visions. Huh. One of its meanings was revealing a message, as well as truth and true vision. In theory, I could see through any spell. I wonder if it worked with the Mist? I'd have to look into that at some point.

One of the ways I'd read about a rune being cast is via a rune casting, but that was mainly for divination and so would be pointless in this instance. If this mysterious force behind all this could enforce a rune through writing it down, could I? I got a blank piece of paper and drew Ansuz. I held it up and looked around the room. Everything looked the same, but then I hadn't expected anything to have changed.

I went into the bathroom and pulled down the neck of my shirt. I used a small amount of Mist to cover up a very nasty scar I got from one of my battles with Phoebus. I held the rune next to it. The Mist flickered and cleared, showing the scar that ran from my collar bone down to my elbow. You really don't want to know how I got that. But at least I now knew the rune worked.

Now I had to figure out how to use it conspicuously. Having a sheet of A4 paper and waving at people might give it away I'm up to something. Well, true sight implies using your eyes. What if I drew it on my eyelids? That didn't actually sound like that bad of an idea. I had skin toned make up that I could cover it up with and still make it look natural enough to pass as my actually skin.

I found a pen I knew I could trust and carefully drew the rune, making sure to draw it so it wasn't reversed. That could lead to all sorts of problems. When I was done, I looked at my reflection. I could clearly see my scar, yet I could feel the Mist still in place. Wow. I had to test run this. Grabbing my jacket, I headed back into the city.

It was like walking around a completely different London. Just walking through Green Park I noticed all sorts of things I'd never seen before. I could see the nymphs in the trees, the naiads in the lake. I even spotted a few Kabolos scaring the mortals and causing mischief. How could I not have seen all this before? Obviously demigods weren't as good as seeing through the Mist as we thought!

I spent a good few hours in the Park, not even bothering to go around the rest of the city. The runes worked, that was all I needed to know. There was still this niggling feeling in the back of my mind that I shouldn't be using them. They were 'not condoned', after all. Persephone's words rung in my head: the results are often not what the user intended. Well, I hadn't seen a lot of unforeseen consequences as a result of the runes. Or was that just because the people using them were experienced sorcerers? Well, regardless of the risks, I knew I was ready for tomorrow.


	19. New Friends, New Foes

I followed my usual routine for a Monday morning, remembering to draw the Ansuz onto my eyes. Just walking around the city was a whole new experience. When I arrived at school, I saw people in a whole new light. It was almost like I could see what they truly thought, truly felt.

The time came for assembly. Mrs Jolinwood stood at the front, going on about something to do with the school. But I was too busy looking at her. _Really_ looking at her. Surrounding her was a faint glow indicating the presence of Mist. It was so strong the Ansuz couldn't see through it. She must have something very powerful to hide if she used that much Mist. Determined to get to the bottom of this, I squinted and stared at her.

I saw a flickering form over lapping the image of Mrs Jolinwood we all knew and loved. The other form was very regal looking, with her dark hair tied back in a bun and a golden headpiece framing her face. She was wearing a toga type purple dress, and a set of scales hanging from her waist. What was this?

After the assembly, I followed Miss Jolinwood, telling Laura I had something to tell her and I wouldn't be there period one. I followed her into her office, distorting the light around me so I couldn't be seen. There she let her guard down. This other from became her only form, the full impact of it drawing a gasp from me. She whirled around, her eyes narrowed.

"I know you're there, Eden," she said, looking right at me.

I allowed the light to flow naturally around me.

"Who are you?" I asked.

Her face was still Mrs Jolinwood, but her entire demeanour had changed. She held herself taller, more refined. Even her voice had changed, gaining a slightly continental accent.

She smiled slightly. "My true name is Astraea. I am the goddess of justice, innocence and purity. I was sent here to keep an eye on all the demigods here. Apollo foresaw the arrival of great power at this school. My fellow Olympians believed the goddess of justice would be good as a headmistress.

"That is why I have been a little harder on you than the other students here. I know of your true potential, and always wanted you to achieve your best. I can tell the pureness of your heart and always wished for you to do well. I have no demigod children of my own, but I like to feel like the demigods here, as well as all of my students, can come to me for anything.

"Along those lines, I have noticed the runes on your eyes," she said, smiling coyly. I had the grace to blush. "Care to explain?"

And so I told Mrs Jolinwood, or should I say _Astraea_, my story. All the way from the very beginning. I also told her some of my theories and my reasoning for drawing the Ansuz. She nodded.

"I can understand where your reasoning lies," she said. "But I cannot condone the use of old magic. It is a dangerous thing for a demigod to use. I would seriously recommend disusing the runes immediately."

"Why is it so dangerous?" I asked. "All the rune magic I've seen so far has done exactly as required."

"It confuses heritages, evokes those gods. Not something you want to do," Astraea said. "It draws them closer to this world, opens up a bridge for them to cross. Calling them here isn't something I'd recommend doing."

"I'll disuse the runes as soon as I've gotten to the bottom of this," I promised. "But at the minute I have to fight fire with fire. By familiarising myself with this sort of magic, I'm preparing myself for whatever I may come across. The people behind this are going to stick to their guns and use runes, so I have to, too."

Astraea's shoulders sagged. "I suppose you are right," she said. "Just be careful," she said. "I may not have noticed something here, but then again I am not the most powerful of goddesses. I didn't even notice you trailing me from assembly. I don't approve of you cutting class, by the way."

I smiled shyly. "I'm sure Ms Francine won't mind me missing dance."

It was not a subject I acceded in, nor did I enjoy it or get to opt out of it.

"I'm sure she won't," Astraea said. "Now that I will help you where ever I can."

I nodded my thanks. "Thank you," I said. "I greatly appreciate it."

"Of course. Now, how about you go back to Ms Francine and I give you a note explaining your absence, hum?"

"Do I really have to?" I asked. "You know from my countless visits here after dance I can't do it. Is there noting I can do here?"

She just laughed. "Odd that a warrior who can fight perfectly in sync with others cannot move their feet in time to music. No dear, I'm afraid you will have to go."

"Fine," I mumbled, heading for the door. Just at the door, I tuned and bowed. "Thank you, my lady."

She nodded. "You're welcome," she said, raising the Mist and becoming Mrs Jolinwood once more. "Now go!" she said, shooing me towards the door.

* * *

The day sped by and time came for lunch. I did get yelled at by Ms Francine, but that was nothing new. Then I had double English with Miss Greenly, so it was all good. Thankfully, I was one of the rare demigods that didn't have severe dyslexia. (It was worse with numbers, but still not altogether bad).

What really caught my attention was a fight between Henry and the sheep, which occurred after Sandra had taken one look at her and fled in tears. Yes, Henry had been a bitch and abandoned me, but I still felt some responsibility over her. I sat and watched, zoning out of the conversation between Laura and Leila about whatever happened on Big Brother last night. (I really hated that show.)

"What the hell do you think you're playing at?" head sheep Diana said.

"I've told you, I have no idea what I've done," Henry said, getting a bit annoyed.

"Oh, right, like you suddenly forget having a secret relationship with Sebastian behind Sandra's back!" Diana spat.

So, Sandra had done some digging into the whole 'mistress' thing I made up. Who knew she'd be so thorough? I kind of felt bad now for making that up…

"Is that what she thinks?" Henry said, surprised. Obviously the fist she'd heard about it.

"Well done, Di," one of the other sheep scoffed. "Sandra said not to mention anything!"  
"Well, Sandra's not here now, is she?" Diana said, starting on her fellow sheep. She turned back to Henry. "Well, if Sandra won't do anything about it, I will."

She went to hit Henry. I sprung up to defend her, but stopped in my tracks. Henry, the most nonviolent person I know, grabber her arm and twisted it behind her back. Either she'd been holding out on us all these years, or something was seriously wrong with her.

I bent the light around me once more and went closer.

"Hey!" Diana said. "Let me go!"

"Why would I do that?" Henry said, her voice dangerously low. "So you can attempt to hit me again? I don't think so."

Then I saw it. The blood red runes swirling around her. There was every kind of rune I knew about and a few complicated ones I didn't. They orbited around her like the rings orbiting Saturn. Slowly, I saw the runes snake out down Henry's arms and wrap around Diana's body. Diana's eyes grew wide, as if she could feel the runes gliding up her arm.

"What are you going to do now?" Henry said, a sadistic look in her eye that I'd never seen before. Her voice gained a rasp to it I'd never associate with her, too.

"I know what you're going to do," I said, allowing the light around me to run naturally so I could be seen. I placed my hand on her shoulder, turning her away from Diana. "You're going to back off."

I saw a flash of a hideous girl, her half skeleton face looking at me murderously – impressive when she didn't have any facial expression – and the living half mirroring that intent. But then it was gone, along with the dark runes.

Henry blinked a few times, as if waking from a deep sleep.

"Leave me alone," she said, brushing past me. I let her go.

I turned back to Diana, who was clutching her arm.

"You okay?" I asked.

"I think I just need to go to the nurse's office," she said shakily. "That Henry's got a solid grip."

"Just before you do," I said, stopping her from getting past. "What was all that about?"

"Well, after you told Sandra what a mistress was, she went searching," Diana said. "She found Sebastian's phone at his parent's house and saw that he'd been calling and texting Henry a lot. I mean, more than he does Sandra. But when she confronted him about it, he denied the whole thing. She was planning on talking to Henry about it, but never got round to it. I'm sure you saw the rest from there."

"Thanks," I said. "That's all I needed to know."

Her and the other sheep scuttled off in the direction of the nurse's office whilst I headed back to my girls. Austin had seen the whole thing and asked if I was okay. I said I was fine and lapsed into my own thoughts. What were those runes doing around Henry? Who was that skeleton girl I saw over her face? How did this all tie together? I quickly wrote all this down on the back of my English book (If Miss Greenly found it she shouldn't be that alarmed) and hoped nothing else happened to complicate the plot.

If only.


	20. A Trip Beyond

For the next few days I carried on the routine of putting the Ansuz on my eyes. I had no more startling revelations, but I did keep seeing those runes occasionally flare up around Henry when she got angry or annoyed. By Thursday, I made the resolution to confront her about it.

Thursday itself went without a hitch – there was a slight incident between Leila and one of the sheep that I had to sort out, but that was nothing new. Obviously being a demigod held more swing than it used to. After school I made my excuses to Laura and followed Henry. I put all of my stealth training into action: I had no idea what I was dealing with and so had to stay on guard.

I followed her left out of the school gates down Park road, another left down Rossmore road and left again down Lisson Grove. She then turned right down Marylebone Road and disappeared into Edgware Road tube station. That struck me as odd because of two things: there was a far quicker way to that station (right out of the gates down Park Road onto Bakers Street, then right again onto Marylebone Road), and she doesn't get the Hammersmith and City, Circle or District Lines home. She gets the Metropolitan Line usually at Bakers Street north. Why was she going in here?  
As not to loose her, I picked up my pace. Just as I entered the station, I saw her dart around a corner. I ran a little to get close. It was approaching rush hour and there were lots of people frequenting the station. Slowing a little, I opened me senses. They stretched out in front of me, seeking out magic in the area. I picked up a great flash of dark magic coming from the direction I'd seen Henry go in. I followed that.

When I got to the platform, however, Henry was no where to be seen. The trail she was leaving behind ended, too. There were too many people on the platform for her to have gotten on a train, plus if she had I'd have been able to follow the trail down the tunnel. She'd just… vanished.

Sighing, I decided to go home. I got on the next train to Kings Cross/St Pancras, switched to the Victoria line south and got off at Green Park. I'd just gotten to the top of the stairs when I picked up the trail again. It was so potent, I could actually see it. Then again, that could have been the Ansuz… Regardless of what it was, I followed the trail once more.

I made a quick check of what weapons I had on me, just in case it got ugly. I had my mother's dagger strapped to one ankle, one of my other ones on the opposite ankle. Even though I did have a lot of practice with daggers and could quite happily fight with them, I would have felt better with my sword. Still, if I went home to get it, I had the feeling I'd loose her.

I followed the trail into Green Park itself. It went through the trees until there was a shimmer across the path. With the Ansuz I could see that what was on the other side of the shimmer was not Green Park. I could see a vast body of ocean, too big to be a lake but couldn't be the vast ocean because there was land on the far side. The trail of magic went straight through the shimmer, which I assumed was some kind of portal, and down the beach. Taking a deep breath, I went through.

Looking around, I saw a seemingly endless expanse of white sand. Where ever I was, it was very pretty. There was greenery to my left and a body of water to my right. I could see the land over the water, but I still wasn't entirely sure where I was. Up ahead, where the trail lead, I could see what looked like a pier or port, with a cluster of buildings beyond that. I had the feeling something big was going to happen.

Suddenly, the trail behind me disappeared. I spun around to see the other end of the beach. No shimmer with Green Park beyond it. Nothing. I guess there was no turning back now.

I carried on walking down the beach. After a few moments, I cam across a large brown looking boat. Well, I say boat; it was a ship, probably used for hauling things. Or it was, when it wasn't covered in rust and had various bits of greenery sprouting from it. It went a far distance into the sea, but didn't look like it had moved in years. Possibly a ship wreck? The trail went around the ship, so I did too.

On the other side of the shop was another bit of beach, which I crossed to arrive at a harbour. The trail carried on around the corner, past different warehouses and haulage trucks. The buildings had things like 'Ryba' or 'Prosto z Helski' written on the side of them. There seemed to be a lot of trucks with 'Przewozy Helski' on the side, too.

The trail got thicker and more potent the further I went along, so I gathered I was getting closer to the source. To Henry. Following it I went left down the harbour and then right into an abandoned warehouse with a blue room and battered fence around it. The door seemed to be in pretty bad shape, a Henry shaped hole where the missing part of the door should have been. I climbed through the fence and inspected the door closer. It literally was disintegrated, rust coloured dust on the floor. I took out my daggers and headed inside.

It truly was an abandoned warehouse. The windows were boarded up with rotting wood; the roof had holes in it letting in small beams of sunshine. It was dark, dank and grey, not to mention seriously depressing. I heard the scuttle of a rat at the far end of the room. Hat about did my nerves in. Every moment I was there, I was seriously regretting this decision.

Slowly, I edged into the centre of the room, carefully avoiding standing underneath any precarious looking equipment hanging from the ceiling. I'd seen far too many suspense movies to know what happened to the heroine stood under on of those. Taking a closer look around the room, I noticed runes drawn all over the walls. I had no idea what they were for, but I saw many Hagalaz dotted around the room. That couldn't be a good sign.

Just as I realised I may have walked straight into a trap, my foot brushed something on the floor. Glancing down, I saw a rune flash red on the floor under my foot. Simultaneously, the runes all over the walls snapped into life, growing in size and power. I threw up a flash of sunlight in a hope to disrupt the casting. Thankfully, it worked. I surrounded myself in several bands of rotating sunlight as a precaution.

"You gonna come out and face me, Henry?" I called. "Or just hide over there thinking I can't see you?"

When she emerged from the shadows, it took a lot for me not to gasp in horror. She was dressed in a black shift that hung of her. I hadn't noticed how dangerously thin she'd gotten. Half of her face was the Henry that I knew and loved, but half was a skeleton. A moving skeleton. There was no shimmer to indicate it was an illusion, so she actually had transformed into a half skeleton.

"Oh, Eden," she said. "Call me Hel."


	21. The Epic Finale

"Hel?" I asked. "What on earth are you on about?"

Henry – Hel – just laughed at me, yet her expression stayed grim.

"Oh, Eden, you are in the dark, aren't you?" she mused, her voice having an alien aspect to it. Almost raspy. "If you don't even know who I am, then you are in trouble. I am the ruler of Helhiem, the Norse Underworld. I have been sent by… an associate of mine to test you, to see what makes modern day demigods tick. And, oh, have I had fun playing with you!"

She approached slowly, as if stalking. I made the rings surrounding me a little brighter.

"So many ways to torment you, so many bonds to break! It was especially fun taking this form. It's been so long since I've been to Midgard, and even longer since I'd met a descendant of mine. I didn't even know there were any left."

Descendant?

"I don't mean a literal descendant, of course," she said, coming ever closer. "I hardly ever have time to get out of Helhiem, let alone have a child. I was barely able to get out to come and play with you. I had to leave Ganglati and Ganglot in charge, something I regret every moment I'm away from home.

"But it's all worth it for this," she concluded, coming right up to my bands of light. "The conclusion to my little game. The finale, if you will. Your last moments."

What?

"I am sorry I have to kill you, she said, almost looking remorseful. "I haven't had this much fun in eons. But after finding out we exist, I cannot let you live. That would break the truce and then war would break out and who knows what after that?!"

She was cracking up now, her eyes wide and pupils becoming pinpricks. Then she doubled over in pain, screaming and clutching her head.

"Master doesn't want me to kill you," she snapped. "But for once I'm going to do what I want! I'm not going to listen to him! I wanted to kill you from the start, but he said no. Now I'm going to, no matter what!"

Then she lunged at me. I sidestepped her, allowing her to fall to the floor by my feet.

"Who's this Master?" I asked. "Why doesn't he want me dead?"

"My Master is a secret," she said, "He will not be named by me."

She went for me again, but I managed to disorientate her by flashing light straight into her eyes. Quickly, I created several light doubles of myself surrounding her. When she stood up straight, she spun around, confused. Snarling, those black runes started swirling around her, her eyes turning blood crimson.

"If you think cheap tricks can fool me, girly, you are sadly mistaken!" she spat.

Using her skeleton hand, she slashed through my illusions.

"The only way you'll defeat me is by using the old magic, that forbidden to you. Too bad!" she cackled with laughter.

I pulled out by daggers and bent my knees, keeping my stance low. I started bounding on the alls of my feet, ready to move whenever I needed to.

"Ooh," she mocked. "Girly's gonna fight, huh? You should watch yourself, girly, I too can play with sharp objects!"

The nails on both her hands grew immensely, becoming ten medium sized daggers. Great. She came at me, slashing away. I blocked all of her attacks, but it was like she'd grown extra arms. When I blocked a move, another came just as quick. Slowly, I was backed up against the wall, hands trapped at my sides, Hel breathing heavily in my face.

"Is that all the fight you've got, girly?" she asked, her teeth back in an ugly sneer.

"Not even close," I ground out, kicking her sharply in the shin. Whilst she whirled away in pain, I ran back into the centre of the room. I glanced around for anything that might help. It was a big empty, derelict room. Hel certainly knew where to stage her final battles. There was nothing around to aid me. There weren't even beams in the roof for me to hide on.

Instead, I poured my power into the daggers. I'd done it once before when I'd gotten into a particularly nasty fight with Phoebus. My daggers lit up, shining a glorious golden colour, the colour of the morning sun.

Hel just laughed at me. "You think your mother's light is going to save you?" she asked. "Pathetic."

We circled each other, each waiting for the other to make the first move.

"You know, Hel," I said to her. "In some cultures dawn is considered the purest of all things, especially light. It had inspired artists, poets, writers, playwrights and musicians. Dawn is a symbol of hope in the next, new day. I'm sure my mother's light can save my friend from your darkness clouding her vision."

"As if some twinkly little light beam is supposed to stop me!" she thundered. "I am a goddess, the goddess that everyone fears because all meet me in the end!"

"Yes, they do," I said calmly. "They meet you in your cold, dark, dank realm where only the dishonoured go. For everyone good and just goes to Valhalla, do they not?" I knew I'd hit a nerve when she snarled, so I carried on down this tangent. "You get stuck with the cowards and deserters, the scum of the nine worlds. And you were thrown from Asgard because of your appearance. It seems the gods just want to punish you in any and all ways they can. Don't you think?"

With a furious screech she dove right for me. Just as planned. I grabbed her outstretched arm, twisted it around her back and, using my mother's dawn infused blade, stabbed Hel in the gut. She screamed as a deep green light erupted from her. That light engulfed her body from the inside out, escaping from her eyes and mouth. The dark runes around Hel's body shuddered and collapsed, Hel's body doing the same. Red smoke came from Hel's mouth as her dead half became alive again, flesh and tissue stitching itself together before my eyes. With one last banshee like scream, the spirit of Hel sunk through the floor, leaving Midgard for good.

Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw the man from my dream, the one with dark hair and green eyes, his face taunt with concentration before the image snapped violently from my sight. I ignored it, focusing instead on the stirring Henry in my arms.

I laid her gently down on the floor, using my blazer as a pillow for her head. It was strange to think that not an hour ago I was in school.

Henry's eyes fluttered open.

"Eden?" she croaked, her voice her own once more.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm here," I said, smiling down at her.

She tried to sit up but I kept here down. "I am so sorry, Eden," she said, her eyes swimming. "I didn't mean to do anything I've done for the past two weeks. That thing came to me and took over my body. It was horrendous: I could see everything that was going on, but had no control over it. It was like being in a cage looking out while someone else drove my body."

"How was she able to possess you in the first place?" I asked, confused. "And what did she mean about you being her descendant?"

She sighed. "My family, on my mother's side, originates from Norway. My ancestors were priestesses of Hel. It's believed that the very first one had her blood infused with Hel's, so potentially her blood could flow through my veins, even if very diluted.

"And please don't believe that nonsense I came out with about not being able to cope with you being a demigod. Eden, that's the coolest thing I've ever heard. I really am sorry about what I've done." She looked away from me. "I'd understand if you never wanted to see me again."

I hugged her fiercely. "If you think that I'm going to let one of my best friends go because of something she had no control over you've got another thing coming!" I released her. "Just as a side note, you don't happen to know where we are, do you?"

"Hel, I think," she said. When I stared at her, she amended. "I don't mean Helhiem, I mean Hel, Poland. There's a little village just along the harbour if you want to get in touch with someone to pick us up."

"Just get me near a rainbow," I said. "I can handle the rest from there."

When she was ready to walk with my help from me, we walked outside. There was a gentle stream of water causing a rainbow a few meters away. Setting Henry down, I went over. After sending an IM to Nico, I sat next to her and asked her if she remembered who was calling the shots. She apologised and said no, everything was a little fuzzy, but she'd try to remember and tell me as soon as possible.

A moment later Nico showed up and Shadow Travelled us to my apartment, where he stayed and helped tend to Henry. She was understandably a little shook up about being possessed by the goddess of the dead. Since his dad was Hades, he talked her out of shock.

I called her parents, who were ecstatic I'd found her – she hadn't been home since the start of term, apparently. After they'd been and picked her up, I had some dinner and got into bed. This was one chapter of my life I was happy to bring to a close.

* * *

**A/N: Almost done now, just the epilogue and this story is complete! I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed and stayed with this story. I hope you all enjoyed it! There will be a longer version of one of these at the end of the epilogue with news of a sequel if people want it...**


	22. Epilogue

Two Days Later

I woke up that morning thinking nothing was out of the ordinary. All in all, it wasn't - except for the letter, the letter that I received from Rose in the green handwriting. I'd put it into my top draw as I couldn't open it. I'd decided to try and open it when I finished with Hel, but I hadn't gotten round to it yet. The letter was on the apartment's coffee table. Open. Cautiously, I went over to it.

The envelope was open and the letter slightly out of it. The letter itself was on the same slightly thicker than normal paper the envelope was made from. I picked up the letter and began to read:

_Eden,_

_ If you are reading this then you have solved my little puzzle. Congratulations on sending Hel back to her own realm. I apologise now for anything she may have done that was not strictly orthodox. She often had a tendency to over play her role in these sorts of things._

_As for whom I am, I am the driving force behind all of this. I am the one calling the shots, pulling the strings. I organized this whole enterprise so that I could see the worth of 21st Century demigods. I often tested demigods when my people were well known on Midgard, but I have not meddled since. It has been a refreshing change from my day to day life, and for that I thank you._

_You shall not yet know who I am. The name I have signed with is one of my many names, but not the one I am most known for. I have seen that we shall meet at some point, but as for when I do not know. I for one wait for that day with bated breath._

_Until then, _

_Rampestreker_

Rampestreker? Who the hell was that? I sighed. I may have solved one mystery, but here was another one straight off the back. I set the letter down and got some breakfast. I'd arranged to meet up with the girls – including Henry – to explain what exactly had been going on these past few weeks. They deserved to know.

Somehow, I had a feeling this wasn't the last I'd see of the deities of Norse Myth. But then again, I wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

**So, that's it! The gods have been revealed, and everything turned out alright in the end. Thank you everyone for all the support, especially 1101 who has reviewed virtually every chapter as of late. But still, thanks to anyone. If you want to check out my other works, I'd be very greatful! I've started work on a sequel entitled Norse Gods: Revealed (It will be under PJ&O and Thor crossovers, hint hint...). I'll be posting it up soon, but I'm going on holiday for a week so it won't be for a while. If you guys would check that out too, I'd love you all forever!**

**Thanks again, Fronk x**


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